Sanatorium is a very compelling, easy-to-play game that puts you in a very distinct role. It’s definitely unlike a lot of other games I played, but also an interesting experience that you will find yourself coming back to quite often. Granted, the gameplay can feel repetitive, but the freshness brought by each patient and their situation will make things feel more interesting as you play. It also helps that the staff and the institution as a whole have their own weirdness and quirkiness, which you will try to navigate as you reach your goal. Although Sanatorium might not be the most complex or the longest game out there, I think this is a worthwhile experience. The charming graphics, disturbing location, art deco visuals and odd staff all add up to creating a very compelling, yet exciting and beautiful game world for you to explore. Yes, the game does have a few bugs, and its core loop might feel unappealing at times, but the more you play, the more compelling the story becomes. And for me, this is a game I will gladly go back to dozens of times, just trying to help more patients and figure out how to treat them. It’s very engaging and treating people feels satisfying.

It's a mediocre game for all intents and purposes, but if Gothic and the former installments in the series floated your boat, then you're in for a pretty good time.

Trinity Trigger feels like a safest approach for a JRPG. The game certainly has its charm thanks to the cartoonish art style, but it doesn’t introduce any new mechanics in the world or JRPGs. The combat has been stripped of any complexity to make room for an in-depth weapon customization system that pretty much carries this entire aspect. It’s unfortunate that just about every location in the game is very low populated and that dungeons are almost the same, but Trinity Trigger makes up for it by providing players with a compelling narrative experience. Although it’s not really a “must play,” Trinity Trigger is definitely worth exploring.

Red Solstice 2 is a game that requires at least another friend to deliver a decent experience. The strategic and tactical layers work, from a purely mechanical point of view, but everything is too focused on repetitive actions to keep the game fun when playing solo. The limited immersion does not help. Gamers who can get together a group of four people and manages to coordinate sessions will have a very different experience. Four humans who work together to deal with the hordes of monsters, especially on the higher difficulties, can create impressive heroic moments. Red Solstice 2 shows the limits of a solid set of gameplay mechanics but also reveals the excitement that only cooperative play can generate.

Star Trek: Infinite is a fine science fiction grand strategy experience, designed to appeal to fans of the TV and movie franchise. The development team has tried hard to deliver as many familiar elements as possible and mostly succeeded. The game creates a more focused experience than the New Horizons mod for Stellaris and its mechanics are easier to understand. Some players have been complaining of game-stopping bugs, which have not impacted my campaigns, so it might be a good idea to wait for a patch or two. Some mechanics, like spies and governors, also feel under-backed. But the ability to create stories and play out scenarios makes Star Trek: Infinite a great experience for both veterans and newcomers to the grand strategy space.

Code Vein II is the best example of a game that looks amazing on paper but in reality, fails to be stellar in any aspect. This isn’t necessarily a bad game, but it’s strange to have a sequel that has a lot more mechanics, characters, and story bits than the original, and fail to surpass it. The open-world aspect should have helped Code Vein II elevate it from the typical corridor-like soulslike, but it doesn’t. It’s nice to freely roam a world like the one Bandai Namco built for Code Vein, but not if it’s completely empty. One other major issue with Code Vein II is performance, which is, once again, all over the place. When it rains outside, your frames drop considerably, so combat is a nightmare. Things look good in dungeons, but the moment you step outside, everything seems half-baked. If you’re itching for a soulslike and consider Code Vein II, I would recommend playing the first one instead. Even if that would mean playing it a second time.

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.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts is fun but feels less polished than Sniper Elite 4. The missions can be fun, but somehow they are less interesting overall than the storyline of its biggest competitor. Thanks to its ideas and setting the game proves to be fun, while the level design manages to make it immersive. Although the ideas are held back by several technical difficulties, the combination of stealth and sniping makes from Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts the first solid entry of the series.

War, the Game is a title that all strategy lovers should try out at least once in order to see how smaller teams can innovate by taking the classic concepts of the genre and turning them into something new.

Redout: Space Assault is a relatively simple game that satisfies some very arcade itches. Taking out enemies while dodging waves of attacks and finding some time to take stock of the situation can be exhilarating. But in its current form, the mechanics are simply too limited to make the game engaging for more than a few hours. Its phone-based origin is clear. The big battles are, at first, fun and exciting. But the fourth or fifth time when almost the same scenarios appear it is hard to summon the energy to do it all again. More variety is needed to make this on-tails space combat experience attractive in the long term.

At first, I had no idea what to expect from Dreams of Another, as screenshots and trailers don’t make it justice. It seems like a generic, pixelated shooter, although the game is much more than that. It’s a game that focuses on creating a great, different experience, and it mostly sticks the landing in my opinion. Yes, it’s not flawless, nor does it try to be. These days, most people want to play titles like Call of Duty or Battlefield, just to blow off some steam. Dreams of Another manages to bring us an entirely different experience, where we question our meaning on this planet, and it becomes very meditative at times. I don’t think Dreams of Another is for everyone, it won’t fit the backlog of action-focused gamers. But if you like puzzles, philosophy and exploration, it’s certainly a title that you should play.

Despite some technical issues, Cloudpunk remains a memorable game with an atmosphere that almost makes you forgive the technical issues. You will thoroughly enjoy the story and some questions about human nature will remain with you even after the credits. Sadly, the traffic on the skyways and the moments when the NPCs are affected by amnesia will break the spell and yank you out of the immersion. But there is nothing a patch could not fix, restoring Cloudpunk to a hidden gem worth experiencing by everyone.

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet can become boring quite fast due to its repetitive encounters and unevenly paced story, something that could have been easily avoided. The good news is SAO fans will find it a breath of fresh air, since Fatal Bullet plays and feels different than the previous games.

The Golf Club can be a good investment for purists and the editor is a great piece of work, but this is also a game that lacks attention to detail at times and suffers because of that.

Biomutant is flawed from almost every angle we look at it but still manages to be fun. Nothing is truly original or innovative, but it is melded together in a fashion that makes the game work. It is an RPG in a huge open world, with tons of action, even more freedom, and its very own personality. For a first game, it is not bad. Some things can be improved, but you can lose yourself in the game world and you will have fun with it. Despite the flat jokes and repetitive secondary quests, Biomutant is a game worth a try.

Unfortunately, the slow and unnerving pace at which you walk will leave you with ample time to wonder what could have been if the writing were more meaty, leaving one with an overall taste of unrealized potential. In any case, not bad for a first effort.

The problem is that by the time you get anywhere near something that resembles a scratch for your itch, the entire area of your body that prompted the search for it is already decaying, and just like an Alzheimer's patient without a GPS bracelet, you'll find yourself lost in the woods, confused and wondering what exactly it was that you were doing there in the first place, apart from chasing those kids off your lawn, of course.

Although it starts as a walking simulator, Maid of Sker turns quickly into a horror game that will remind you either of Silent Hills or Resident Evil or maybe of Outlast or Amnesia. No matter what your experience is with horror games, you will find their influence on Maid of Sker, which is not great, not terrible. It is a lukewarm experience, which rather frustrates than scares, and which due to its length and content can be recommended only after a serious discount.

Ancestors is not a perfect game, and I think it could have benefited from another six months in development. But the overall scope and reach of the game make playing it worthwhile. I hope the developers will let people know more about some of the mechanics used, like the weird mini-map, because players will want to know. Weirdly, I feel ready, somehow, to be left alone in a jungle.

Hammerting is a good example of how solid individual mechanics sometimes fail to offer more than the sum of their parts in terms of gameplay. The development team has put together an interesting dwarf clan simulation and management title. It has even created an engaging if derivative universe for the player to interact with. But playing Hammerting often feels like a chore. Make sure that you check all characters to remember their stats and best use in the colony. Deal with all the supply chain issues. Then maybe dig a little deeper to see what the mountain throws at you. Warpzone needs to streamline its gameplay formula a little while increasing the immersion factor to make its future titles more attractive.

Gods Will Be Watching is the sort of love it or hate it video game affair that only transformative titles that push the boundaries of their genre can present. It’s not trying to make you kick puppies, it’s not trying to make you hold hands and sing Kumbaya, it’s about finding a mixture of the two that leads to your survival and doesn’t give you too many nightmares afterward.

Aragami 2 tries to add a layer of co-op action on top of its core stealth gameplay. Funny enough the stealth and combat mechanics are anything but co-op friendly. It feels like a half-baked release, with the developers having no clear direction how to continue the first game. It has its moments in co-op, but even those are ruined by the glitches and bugs. After the first few hours it becomes a repetitive grind and there is no real motivation for anyone to finish it. Aragami 2 is a completely unworthy and unmemorable sequel.

Without a doubt, Firefighting Simulator - The Squad is the kind of game that will keep you busy even if the life of a firefighter doesn’t necessarily appeal to you. This is because, above all, Firefighting Simulator - The Squad is a co-op game that needs proper teamwork to complete the more challenging mission, no matter if we’re talking about AI or human players. However, after playing the game for nearly a week, I feel like Firefighting Simulator - The Squad leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to the firefighting experience. For instance, the missions should be further expanding with more incidents that a typical firefighter would have to deal with, including here chemical spills, car accidents, and airplane crashes. This would make the game feel less repetitive, while also adding another challenging factor to the overall experience.

Kholat is a great looking game that can capture the imagination of players very quickly with its impressive environments and with the initial narrative about the real world set of events on which it is based. Unfortunately, the developers have failed to find a way to keep interest up in the long term and the inability move at will across the landscape and the limited functionality associated with the map quickly become frustrating.

Sid Meier's Starships is a good and replayable turn based strategy experience that will certainly appeal to lovers of classic science fiction franchises and to those who appreciate the way the leader of Firaxis managed to make player choices relevant.

Party Hard blends a novel concept with a great mix of gameplay mechanics. Throw in the random behavior of NPCs and the tongue-in-cheek style and shutting down parties feels quite good. Gameplay might become repetitive in some situations but, overall, you'll have a nice time with it.

FBC: Firebreak is one of those games that can be hard to describe, yet once you get into it, this game will become very addictive. And it’s easy to see why. Control’s world is amazing, mysterious, and a pleasure to explore. The multiplayer experience is quite impressive here, and they do an amazing job at making the levels feel interesting and a delight to go through. Of course, that doesn’t make FBC: Firebreak perfect. The core gameplay loop, while fun, gets very repetitive due to the lack of randomized elements, and few levels available at launch. Right now, having only 5 levels is an issue, as you have to repeat them over and over, albeit with modifiers and various difficulty levels. I think it’s well worth playing for any team-focused FPS lovers, but keep in mind this is just a foundation. I am sure that Remedy will continue adding more levels and fun stuff for us to unlock and customize our characters with. Yet that will arrive in due time.

The Crew is a decent racing game that's weighed down by its constantly online mechanics. The missions and challenges are nice, but if you don't have friends, you'll be hard pressed to find them in the game.