Sunset might ultimately be an unsatisfying game but the only way for a player to decide how he feels about it is to play through at least 15 days as Angela and see whether he starts to fall in love with her story.

Despite all the cool features that are touted, it the end is just a soulless racing game that doesn’t excel at anything but also doesn’t really fail in any significant way.

Paradise Lost is a story worth exploring once, the alternative ending targeting those who were roped in by the story and the character development of Szymon. Sadly, there won’t be too many, because despite the strong start, the magic fades and ultimately Paradise Lost proves to be a walking simulator that could have been very interesting in theory, but actually it is just conventional and flat.

Forest Grove is not the stocking filler I have hoped for. It is a mediocre game at best, that does not offer any real challenge or satisfaction. The game mechanics are way too simple and repetitive, the hardest part being to decern what is relevant for the case and what is not. While I appreciate what the developers tried to build here, I cannot recommend the game as long as there are so many better alternatives out there. You are better off watching your favorite TV series.

VED takes risks in a way that only an indie passion project can. Not all of them pay out yet the end result is worth playing for gamers who like both turn-based combat and extensive conversations. The narrative involves the fate of two worlds and touches on big themes, although the writing quality is uneven. The game’s combat system, turn and tile-based, creates tense battles, especially once players unlock extra powers. The dice-focused encounters do not add much to the experience. VED isn’t perfect but has ideas that are worth experiencing.

Godbreakers was a great game for me, even if it’s quite short. Provided that you have a good team, it will take you 3 hours or so to do a full run as you beat the final boss. However, there’s tons of content to unlock, along with countless runs to unlock everything. That being said, if you’re ok with repetitive gameplay that’s normal for roguelites, I think Godbreakers will be right up your alley. The game worlds feel very immersive and rewarding. And the game continues to impress with the visual style and incredible attention to detail. I do wish there was more content beyond the 6 worlds, and hopefully they add more content in future updates and DLCs. But even for what’s there, Godbreakers delivers on its promise, and it’s a very rewarding experience, not to mention it feels great while playing, which is the most important thing.

Tour de France 2024 is a fun cycling experience that is hard to master. It takes patience to prepare well for a race and decide when it’s the right time to force the pace or attack. Sure, players can pick real-world teams featuring the best riders if they want to dominate competitions. But I had much more fun as the underdog, exploiting opportunities and celebrating third places. For anyone who’s not already interested in cycling, the game will take some time to learn. Play the tutorials and then ride Le Tour with a smaller team, aiming only to fully understand the mechanics and get a feel for how races develop. Tour de France 2024 walks the fine line between realism and fun and manages to create a cycling sim that feels true to the sport.

Sands of Salzaar is a big game that will provide hundreds of hours of entertainment to those who fall in love with it. And there’s a lot to like in this package, from the variety of skills and tactical approaches to the many activities that can bring treasure and fame. It does take time to understand all the core mechanics but once that’s done everything is mostly solid. The developer also has long-term plans to support it with patches and new content. Unfortunately, I need more time to fall in love with this experience. And not because it is lacking in anything but because there’s so much to see. I worry that there’s something I am missing, that I am not using all the available systems. I like that the game believes I will start over, with Legacy points and extra personal experience. That involves a major time investment in Sands of Salzaar that I’m not ready to make yet.

The basic strategy element of Battleplan: American Civil War relies on one core mechanic, that of runners who influence how orders are delivered to units, and it fails to accurately represent many other elements that determined the outcome of an engagement.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong is a good game for fans of World of Darkness who are willing to invest time and energy to solve its puzzles and experience the narrative. The game can be needlessly complex and the writing isn’t always as evocative as it aims to be. The three main characters offer a nice variety of personalities but they sometimes feel like novices rather than hundred years old vampires with a deep pool of abilities to draw on. The presentation is too ambitious for its own good, although there are moments when it makes this vampire-dominated universe come alive. I found that Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong is more enjoyable if I abandon the idea of optimizing my character and the goal of getting the best result out of all situations. Play the game once, accept outcomes, and see where the story of these three vampires and their effort to protect the Boston Camarilla take you.

Pax Augusta is a unique take on Roman-era city building, with a focus on slow development and modularity. The effort to come as close to actual history as possible, when it comes to both buildings and citizen needs, is laudable. The fact that one developer created this entire video game is even more impressive. The cities look good, even if citizens tend to behave in relatively weird ways. But the game does need to improve performance and find better ways to deliver feedback, especially when it comes to building restrictions. Any fan of classics like Caesar or more titles like Manor Lords will have fun with Pax Augusta as long as he gives the game time and attention.

The Magnificent Trufflepigs almost instantly draws a comparison with Firewatch. But it fails to deliver in the same way and actively made me regret spending the 2 hours required to finish it. The development team wants to both tell a poignant story about growing up and making choices and to (slight spoiler) deliver a twist ending that makes almost everything that comes before feeling empty.

Concursion has a great idea but, unfortunately, it manages to waste most of its potential due to glaring issues with the controls, the difficulty curve, not to mention the awful visuals. The boss fights reward only the most patient players and, in true retro style, if you can't complete a level, you can't progress any further.

Citizens of Earth is a great role-playing experience that manages to evoke the feel of Earthbound and other JRPGs while still doing its own thing. The gameplay is fun, the environments are varied, and the crazy citizens make the whole title feel refreshing. Sure, there are a few quirks here and there, but overall, you can't lose by playing this great title.

Fortified is a solid mix of tower defense and action third-person shooting. Its design may not be all that original, but its execution is great and should entertain you, as well as your friends, via the cooperative mode.

Because of the lack of story content, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker feels like a game without soul, and that's by far its greatest weakness. Although somewhat captures the feel of the Naruto anime series when it comes to visuals and music, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker is a shallow game that shouldn't have been released.

Elegy for a Dead World is a game so unique that there is no point of reference for it. Nothing like this has been done before, and it fills a niche that many gamers will appreciate.

Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered is a decent effort that stays true to the original games while adding welcome minor refinements. The visual upgrades, new control options, and extra content make this a must-have for longtime fans and a great entry point for newcomers. Unfortunately, not fixing the bugs still feels lazy, even if some may say it is part of nostalgia. If you modernize the graphics, you should have made an effort to also improve the technical parts of the game to alleviate frustration. Once again, this remaster could have been great with a bit more care.

Soccer Story is a good mix of soccer matches and adventure elements, with a world packed with side activities and cute details. It takes a little while to get used to the quick, tackle-driven matches. Playing an upgraded team against a solid computer opponent is both challenging and fun. This football-powered universe might not make a ton of sense but it is interesting to explore. It would work better with a smaller number of side activities. Soccer Story offers an exotic approach to the sport and builds a ton of fun mechanics around the simple act of kicking a ball at a target.

Phantom Fury is a good first-person shooter for anyone who loved the genre during its classic period and wants the same combination of speed and violence, with a few modern concepts sprinkled on top. Shelly is a decent heroine, the B movie writing mostly works, and most combat arenas are well-balanced on Normal. The development team needs to make opponents a little smarter in patches and I really don’t understand why Bombshell can interact with so many objects in the world that aren’t useful in any way. Phantom Fury is a boomer shooter with solid mechanics that struggles to communicate a clear identity.

Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening takes a mostly forgotten fictional universe and builds a good game around it. The narrative is directly drawn from the anime based on the manga, while the mechanics competently use the action platformer template. The Psychogun’s guided attack is a unique mechanic that makes combat, especially boss engagements, more exciting. Play cooperatively, if possible, and don’t skip the cutscenes, even if they seem cheesy. The protagonist’s relatively imprecise movement could lead some players to quit playing, but Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening compensates with retro charm and a cool hand cannon that can stop time.

I had a great time playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and at first, I felt quite overwhelmed by the huge amount of content that it provided. The game’s campaign is not the best out there, but it’s worth playing for the creative story, new-to-COD elements, and the unlocks you get towards your multiplayer experience. Speaking of multiplayer, I still think that’s where Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 manages to shine the most. The new game mode Skirmish will be an acquired taste, but generally, it’s pretty immersive and enjoyable. And of course, the Zombies mode is one of the top highlights, it has a great campaign and with 4 different game modes there as well, you have lots of content just to play that side of the game. As a complete package, I think that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has a lot to offer, and everyone will certainly have its favorites. It’s a great game for casuals that want to get into an FPS, and hardcore COD players will surely enjoy unlocking weapons, attachments and mastering the weapons they like the most.

Unrest offers a gripping story about hope, failure, action and inaction, fear and security, which feels more like an interactive visual novel than an actual game. And a well-written one, at that. Sort of like A Game of Thrones without endlessly waiting for the dragons to come, the game delivers its quick shot of gripping narrative, challenges you to make a couple of life and death decisions, then leaves you boiling in the karmic print of your choices.

The only thing I'm sad about is the lack of the other two expansions included in the Complete version.

Slow Down, Bull is a delightful casual experience about dealing with stress and learning to cope with a desire for perfection. Even so, it can get quite frustrating as progress through its campaign and the controls take a bit of time to get used to, both while using a mouse and keyboard configuration or a controller. The lack of 1080p resolution support is also a bit of a disappointment.

The gimmick of using a PlayStation 1 presentation might attract an audience. But the game needs more than style to keep players engaged, even if only for the around three hours the story needs to reveal itself. Chasing Static has some good elements but it never manages to get the right mix for a truly engaging experience.

No Place for Bravery offers an interesting mix of tough combat and exotic presentation. Some players might be driven away by the pixel art (the weird legs of the characters still annoy me) or the difficulty level. But the story and the gameplay have the quality required to keep players engaged. Given the clear love that the team at Glitch Factory has for the souls-like genre, I wanted the game to innovate more, to find ways to make the 2D top-down perspective add something to it. But No Place for Bravery plays it too safe and misses a chance to deliver a truly innovative gameplay loop rather than stick close to the classics.

GRAVEN aims for an intriguing combination of exploration, combat, and puzzle solving. All are decent, neither is truly good and the game cannot seem to decide what kind of experience it wants to create. I really wanted to use the spells, especially fire, to kill enemies, without resorting to blades or arrows. It doesn’t help that the fictional world feels derivative, and it is feel a connection to our Orthogonal hero. The game really needs a map. GRAVEN could have offered an interesting update on Hexen but it’s just a sometimes enjoyable mix of combat and puzzle work.