More action-focused players will be unable to enjoy Sunless Sea at first, but I hope they take their time to learn what it has to offer and enjoy their trips in the Unterzee, with all the emotion and the frustration that comes packaged in them.

While it may not please everyone and might even cause anger amongst longtime Borderlands fans due to a pretty big moment, it tells a great story and manages to set up the final chapter in a solid way.

Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War is one of the best World War III strategy simulations, mainly because of how it simulates command and control. Players have to take into account unit capabilities and employ a classic combined arms approach when possible, with simultaneous action and command cycles adding unpredictability and tension. Streamlined postures for all units and more options for the Standard Operating Procedure sections make it easier to try and execute complex plans. The presentation is pretty classic, which might make it hard for newcomers to engage. Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War expands on all the cool ideas of Southern Storm (a discount is offered for owners of that title), and its variety of campaigns and scenarios is impressive.

The developers have nailed the sense of progression and the tension that the genre is built around. The presentation is very old-school, which can be a problem for players who have never interacted with MS-DOS titles. It is also integral to the spirit of this game. Loop Hero is a great game for fans of its genre and has plenty of cool mechanics and hooks for those who want to try it out for the first time.

Resident Evil 2 comes in 2019 in all the glory you'd expect from such a mammoth franchise, bringing players new and old the same magnificent story but with spine-chilling new graphics and mechanics that will make even those of you with nerves of steel to experience the occasional lift-off from your gaming couch. Nothing negative can be said regarding the game, except for the difficulty and sense of dread and helplessness you get sometimes, but then again, that is the recipe for a good survival-horror title!

Wax Heads is an impressive achievement. It delivers a great mix of varied music, great record graphical design, exquisite fictional critical texts, and narrative. The universe built around Repeater Records is a lovely one, filled with cool customers and interesting co-workers. Make sure to unlock and play all the songs that were specifically recorded for the game. While the core gameplay loop of using a short prompt to find the best record for each character is great, it can become somewhat repetitive. Playing two or, at most, three days in one session is the go-to move. Wax Heads is a great example of how a two-person team can deliver a great game, infused with passion and packing great songs.

Despite a few downsides like the annoying loading times when you open a door or lack of enemy variety, Hogwarts Legacy is truly a great game that cast its spell on me from the very first few minutes.

The game’s narrative and presentation enhance gameplay without keeping players away from it for too long. The humor adds to the atmosphere and immersion. There are moments when too much is happening in Mr. Sun's Hatbox at once. But this is a game where even failure is entertaining while success opens up more variety and potential strategies.

When all is said and done, we can only marvel at what Konami is doing with PES, despite being the underdog. The latest eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 is fun and great to play, and that’s always what people truly want.

A great installment in the series. While it doesn't overhaul gameplay mechanics all that much, it delivers a fun experience that turns the table on the assassins and shows the conflict from a new angle. Shay is a great character and his assassin hunts are some of the most thrilling sequences in the series so far.

Absolum’s moment-to-moment action is very good, accessible for newcomers, and with plenty of complexity to appeal to side-scrolling combat fans. The heroes play very differently, and their unlockable powers introduce even more variety. They all look great in action, with fluid and powerful moves, and I love the design of both normal enemies and bosses. The fantasy story is decent but not on par with the combat mechanics, and the rogue-like elements are not as inventive as they could be. But, especially when playing with a friend, Absolum creates exciting and fun battles.

Overboard! is a great game for anyone who has played a previous inkle title and liked it. The characters are fun, the lines of dialogue are well-written, the possibilities are all interesting. Veronica manages to be sympathetic despite being all too capable of murder. The replay value of the experience is higher than for any of their previous titles. This means that even for newcomers to the genre this is a great title to take a chance on.

Fans of real-world sport will probably pick F1 Manager 2024 because it gives them the option to create their custom team and then take on the established powers of the sport. It’s fun to pick one of the origins and then strive to use every small competitive advantage to get at least a few wins against the likes of Ferrari or Red Bull. The morale system is a good addition, although it does need a little balancing, and mechanical issues add another level of excitement and dread to the races. The race simulation still creates some weird moments, but it generally feels solid. F1 Manager 2024 is a step forward for the racing series and a solid way to experience Formula 1 in video game form.

Remnant II brings so many improvements over the first game that I’m tempted to ask Gunslinger to remake Remnant: From the Ashes with all the systems they’ve put into the sequel. I’ve rarely been pleasantly surprised by a game like Remnant II. The feeling after managing to kill a boss, discovering a secret area or solving a puzzle and getting rewarded for it, is indescribable. It’s how all the games should be, or at least strive to be. Thanks to solid gunplay and progression systems, as well as amazing boss fights and tons of secrets and puzzles to discover, Remnant II is very close to being a masterpiece. This is one game that you don’t want to skip, regardless of whether or not you like shooters.

Sunset Overdrive is a great open world action adventure game that manages to impress through its rich environments, vibrant colors, and tongue-in-cheek attitude. While the missions are somewhat generic and the enemies are a bit cheap in their attacks, it's still an awesome investment for any Xbox One owner.

The game looks better than ever but plays the same, so newcomers to the series should not skip one of the best JRPGs of all time, I would be “brokenhearted.” On a serious note, Ni no Kuni remains the same charming game that I've played several years ago and I'm glad that Bandai Namco has decided to bring it to a larger audience.

Confidential Killings - A Detective Game is a well-plotted experience with murder cases that grow in complexity at just the right pace. The first few can be solved quickly, basically while looking for the words needed to fill in the solution. Then the number of characters and clues grows significantly, and it takes time to identify everyone and discover exactly what actually happened. The writing is solid, if sometimes designed to deliver clues rather than enhance the atmosphere. The mechanic of picking up words is accessible, while the lack of any hint system is regrettable. Play Confidential Killings - A Detective Game one case at a time and savor its quirky characters and carefully constructed mysteries.

I’ve always liked games like Majesty, and Lessaria is meant to be the successor for those games. And honestly, I think it’s an excellent game in that regard. Not only does it manage to take the core fantasy kingdom simulation gameplay, but it adds its own twists, great buildings and a wonderful hero system. I am a huge fan of the combat system, which is refreshing, especially considering the fact that you can also join heroes in combat. Or you can just be passive and guide them, without being involved in combat yourself. The game’s story is very interesting, I felt involved in the overarching quest, and the game continued to impress with each mission. However, the primary focus is on the gameplay, and you can see that. It’s very polished, beginner-friendly, without being boring. And considering the genre, doing this is certainly a tall order. But Lessaria manages to succeed here, and they do that with flying colors. It’s definitely a must-play for anyone that likes strategy games, but honestly, it’s a good pickup for any cozy gamer that doesn’t mind a bit of combat as well.

Metal Slug Tactics is a tight turn-based tactics video game that gives players a lot of toys to play with and asks them to carefully plan and execute battleplans. Sync moves are cool, especially once the three-man team picks up some solid upgrades, and the Adrenaline mechanic encourages players to move and find efficient combos. Fans of the franchise will probably connect more with the story bits, which can seem a little under-baked. But I like the pixel-driven look and the booming announcer. Metal Slug Tactics successfully delivers the “just one more run” feeling of a good rogue-lite and solid tactical engagements.

F1 22 is without a doubt one of the best titles of the year in the racing sim world. Excellent graphics that take full advantage of the PS5 hardware power, the updated regulations, the new Immersive feature that makes it possible for gamers to control their cars when the Safety Car is on the track, and the pit stop experience overall, all make the game provide an even more realistic Formula One experience.

Wildfrost takes the core ideas of the very popular card-driven genre and makes enough changes to add freshness to it. It does take some time to unlock all the town buildings and the three tribes that can provide leaders and cards. But once that happens, the game offers a wide range of tactical options and it’s fun to discover how various combinations will perform against the capable bosses. The game’s presentation also stands out, with a good level of detail and a strong connection to the theme. Wildfrost features some tough challenges but also offers a constant sense of progression. Playing a few runs every day is a great way to sharpen tactical thinking.

DmC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition lives up to its name. It offers the already-solid hack and slash experience, plus all of its different add-ons, not to mention a few all-new enhancements that make the game a must-buy.

Bloodborne is the kind of game that keeps you engaged with it long after you put it down, haunting you with a unique mix of hope and hopelessness, flaunting your own shortcomings and provoking you to overcome them through constant struggle, at the end of which awaits only more dread.

The Rise of the Golden Idol is a great sequel and will give all fans of the original plenty of new interesting and violent scenarios to solve. The game’s mechanics are easy to pick up, even for newcomers, with a solid raft of quality-of-life improvements to make it easier to gather clues and find solutions. It would be lovely if the various windows could be resized. The title can cause some frustration when it comes to the big end of the chapter narratives, mainly because of wording that lacks a certain precision. When that happens, do not hesitate to breathe in and out and use the hint system. The Rise of the Golden Idol is good enough that it makes sense to play one or two scenes per session, savoring the many details and the joy associated with some clever deductions.

ICBM: Escalation is a complex game with good real-time strategy mechanics that asks players to overcome existential angst. Winning, after the nukes start flying across the globe, is possible but it involves the death of tons of abstracted-out people. Still, the title makes it compelling to both plan the nuclear annihilation of others and to try and minimize losses. Make sure to play through the tutorial first and it’s a good idea to first engage with the campaign and its more limited scenarios. Standoff and Blitz offer a ton of variety both in terms of setup and potential strategies. ICBM: Escalation is a big game that allows players to set up a variety of scenarios and test out many ways to manage a world-ending nuclear exchange.

Sure, it can get rather hectic at times, but that’s the nature of the beast, after all. Yes, it can take a bit to learn all of its elements and figure out how to create an excellent build. But once you do, you’ll become unstoppable, as you rush through enemies. Shape of Dreams feels very satisfying to play, there’s never a dull moment, and you’ll always feel the itch for one more run.

I loved Destiny 2: Forsaken and I liked Destiny 2. Now that the floodgates are open, I am really interested in seeing what Bungie is planning next. In any case, if you're having any kind of doubts about Destiny 2, that you won’t like it or that it might not be for you, Forsaken should dispel them.

Ratchet & Clank is not an entirely new video game, but it is neither part of the epidemic of remasters for older titles that fail to add anything interesting to the package. Insomniac Games has done a great job of taking the best elements of the original while upgrading both the gameplay and the graphics in order to appeal to modern players.