Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is a great showcase for its world and has some nifty mechanics for both tower development and exploration. I once invested an uninterrupted 20 minutes simply placing foundations and balconies for a stone tower that served as the anchor for a couple of ports, simply to improve the architecture of that island. Unfortunately, the beauty of all these spires and walkways cannot compensate for a certain sense of aimlessness. The three campaigns don’t feel too different, and combat is too automated to feel interesting. Like its massive towers, Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles has good foundations but it doesn’t offer something engaging to build towards.

Sword of the Necromancer is a game that will scratch a very particular itch for fans of rogue-lite experiences that feature more narrative than the genre is known for. The gameplay mechanics deliver one cool idea, the monster resurrection, but fail to make full use of it, especially when players need to deal with bosses or the more capable enemies of later levels. I wanted the game to give me more reasons to use the monsters I revived, to understand them, to build strategies around the ones I chose to carry around. The development team clearly understands how important is to ground players into a narrative. But they need to make sure that there’s deeper integration between the world and the gameplay to create a successful rogue-lite. Right now Sword of the Necromancer is like one of its monsters, intriguing at first but quickly dropped when it no longer seems useful.

Reveil is a walking simulator, but it is a remarkable one. Yes, the puzzles are simple, but they are balanced by the game world full of things to explore and find. There is no monotonous pace, and the stealth and chase sections are more than just tense or strained, featuring a few truly scary moments. It may be short, but the story with its unexpected twists, the multiple settings and the constant questioning of what is real and what can you believe from what you go through, makes it a worthwhile experience for all the fans of adventure and horror games.

Batora: Lost Haven is a competent and mostly enjoyable action game. It has one big idea, the two natures of both Avril and her enemies, but never uses it in any truly unique ways. After a few hours, only the boss battles manage to break up the monotony. The puzzle element of the game is mostly filler. Avril and Mira make a good pair of protagonists but the rest of the narrative is not as exciting. Batora: Lost Haven needs to be more daring with its unique idea when it comes to both combat and puzzles.

The Invisible Hand could have been a great if simplistic stock trading-focused game, if it dropped the satire elements, choosing to focus on how the market can be manipulated and on how rivalries develop between traders. The title could also have been a solid satire of modern wild capitalism and the way it lacks morals or compassion if it allowed itself to invest more in relationships and good dialogue and less in the actual stock-based gameplay. The problem is that the development team wants to deliver on both concepts and fails to reach the potential of either of them. The limited appeal of the presentation does not help with either of them.

Slave Zero X is a deep brawler that rewards players who take the time to understand all its systems and then mix and match attacks and abilities depending on the situation. Bosses are difficult and the game has no difficulty toggles, although investing in biomecha upgrades can help. The game’s presentation is designed to take players back to the 90s and the narrative has both great bombastic speeches and touching moments. Slave Zero X can be overwhelming but I like spending time with it in short sessions, clearing one level, pondering whether to unlock a costume or actually buy an upgrade.

Although the developers are still tweaking the game, the steep learning curve and initial frustration at not being able to kill opponents in a timely manner, while at the same time seeing someone simply one-shot you are still things that need to be taken care of for the long-term health of Minimum.

The inclusion of all DLC tracks and customization features, as well as new exclusive ones, make the game even more desirable since you have a lot of terrains to explore. Overall, MX vs ATV All Out Anniversary Edition is a worthy way of celebrating one year since the original launch of the game, and fans of the genre will squeeze quite a few hours out of this title.

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.

Millennia is a good turn-based strategy experience that has the potential to become great after some updates and, possibly, expansions. The core idea of alternate historical ages is engaging but needs to be expanded on, with more options and more interactions. The rest of the mechanics are familiar but have just enough tweaks to keep turns interesting. The combat sequences need to go and the title should expand its diplomatic elements and trade system. The development team is planning to add modding support before the end of the year. Millennia isn’t a revolution for the 4X genre but has good ideas, even if they aren’t always matched by the execution.

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.

Cobalt is an instant classic for side-scrolling brawlers. The combat is varied and addictive, the mechanics sufficiently complex to satisfy dedicated players, and the competitive modes can entertain all sorts of fans. Throw in the pretty fun story mode as well as the support for the Steam Workshop, through which players can devise their own maps, and you have a great investment.

Clunky combat, flat story, repetitious gameplay, lack of enemy and loot variety make Oninaki a monotonous experience that no one should go through. I wanted to like Tokyo RPG Factory's latest game, but with Oninaki the studio is taking a backward step from its previous titles. The game's unique world can't save it from mediocrity. However, despite its shortcomings, Tokyo RPG Factory fans who liked Lost Sphear will probably find some enjoyment, at least to some extent.

If you’re a veteran of soulslike games, you’ll find Thymesia enjoyable, yet frustrating at times due to some unfair mechanics. Unfortunately, this is not a welcoming game for newcomers to the genre, so you’ll want to skip this one if you’re finding games like Sekiro and Bloodborne too difficult.

Calling Tannenberg a historical online FPS would mean trying to categorize it by genre, but as an experience, it belongs to that category of games that will never see the same success as the giants in the industry, but for the select few that love the historical accuracy and setting, it will become the go-to FPS. With a few patches here and there and maybe a better advertisement campaign, the game may even manage to fill up with enough players as to no longer need the bot auto-fill system.

The game fails to deliver too much in the way of story, and the graphics are a little limited, but the core building and optimization mechanics are captivating and give gamers plenty of interesting ways to tweak the layout of buildings and the paths that characters use.

Oblitus could have been a great game, but unfortunately it's not. It's hard to get into, what with the lack of story and context for your actions and the fact that you have to start all over when you die.

Unfortunately, the Basketball Pro Management 2015 can be a bit too dry at times and the lack of interaction with players, rivals or the media feels like a big miss.

Bricktales finally delivers the ability to piece together Lego bricks in order to build various things, but also shows why the videogames have shied away from this mechanic. Although it sounds good in theory, controlling the bricks in digital space does not really feel natural or comfortable. The camera, although functional, does not actually help with the endeavor of figuring out 3D builds in a 2D representation. We also have to mention that the game is fairly short, even if you aim to collect all the items. In barely 5 hours you have done everything you could have. It is far from a flawless experience, but it can be a fun activity for the family.

Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is an interesting mix of ideas, most of them familiar, with some unique twists. The hand-to-hand combat focus is good, although it takes a lot of experimentation to do everything right. The world is intriguing and surprising, especially when it comes to character and enemy design. This is a hard game and any sentient enemy can become a big problem fast. But the biggest issue with the game is how confusing it can be to move through the world, especially when doubling back through already known areas. Clash: Artifacts of Chaos rewards patience and quick reflexes and shows how being extra weird can make a game memorable.

Rising Lords is dedicated to fans of turn-based strategy with a historical element who don’t want to deal with unnecessary complexity. The game’s focus is on the economy and, specifically, the peasant-powered food supply. Small events can have big consequences and it is never easy to always give people full rations. The turn and hex-driven battles are also decent if lacking in surprises. The card system feels under-cooked. Rising Lords also offers players extra game modes, editors, and multiplayer, giving them multiple ways to engage with its core gameplay loops.

Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster represents a piece of gaming history, and it's nice to see it offered on modern hardware but playing it is only fun for those who already know what to expect and appreciate nostalgia.

Considered on its own, Pro Cycling Manager 2023 is a good cycling management simulation. It’s fun to create a custom team, fill it with youngsters, and try to dominate the sport in 3 to 5 years. Playing the official stages of this year’s Tour de France with any team in the peloton creates interesting situations and challenges. But the title fails to offer enough innovation when compared to last year’s installment. Anyone who still plays PCM 2022 should stick with that game until their favorite mod is updated. Pro Cycling Manager 2023 has solid core mechanics but the franchise needs to be more innovative going forward.

Memory Lost has an interesting core mechanic, and it creates complex combat puzzles around it. Playing on Normal, the game requires players to move fast and aim well but also to constantly plan when to swift into another body and consider which is best suited for the tactical situation. When everything clicks, battles are exciting and fluid. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t give gamers much to keep them engaged if frustration with gameplay kicks in. And the game’s presentation is decent but not spectacular. Memory Lost will please players who have a fondness for action and can tolerate some issues but might struggle to find a wider audience.

Tembo the Badass Elephant succeeds as a game about momentum but fails to make the overall package as solid as it could be.

At the end of the day, Dakar Desert Rally is a mix of good things and bad things, but on quite a lot of occasions, I feel like the game is still a work in progress. Sure, it’s hard to hit all the right spots from the very beginning, but aside from an enjoyable Dakar racing experience, the game needs refinements in many key areas. There still are a few performance glitches here and there, and the AI is ridiculously stupid every now and then, as it has absolutely no problem pushing you out of the track if it can’t get past you. The game system also requires more polishing. If there’s something you can truly enjoy, it’s the pure off-road experience on dunes, in water, and so on. The scenery is beautiful, so if you’re not playing the game to win races, you could have an absolute blast with this game. Otherwise, you may end up disappointed.

Miasma Chronicles is one hell of a ride from start to finish. Although the package comes with a compelling story, my number one enjoyment was to find new ways to finish a fight faster since I treated these as puzzles with complex solutions. If you love turn-based games, Miasma Chronicles is a must-play.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse is a fun and pretty innovative experience for both veteran fans and newcomers. Unfortunately, it's weighed down by some elements like the wonky camera, the fickle lock-on, the dumb companion AI, or the slightly repetitive combat.