Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp is a worthy successor to the impressive first title in the series. The setting might be less engaging but the characters and the interactions are on par if not better. The team has refined its writing and style in interesting ways. The game also makes it hard to wait and see what they can deliver with the rest of the titles in the series.

I had a great time with Jurassic World Evolution 3, and this is certainly a big improvement over the previous game. It runs better, it looks stunning, and it also comes with a very beefy campaign. They also did a very good job when it comes to adding a ton of different dinosaur types, along with a multitude of environments. It gives you a lot more possibilities when it comes to creating the park of your dreams, and that’s incredibly rewarding when you roam through the park. It’s always a thrill to see dinos go out of the incubation center for the first time. Plus, there are tons of diverse species, from megalodons to t-rex, triceratops and so on. Plus, you have hybrid species in there as well. Jurassic World Evolution 3 streamlines the interface, adds baby dinos, and the scenario mode is quite impressive, despite not topping Chaos Theory from the previous title. But all in all, Jurassic World Evolution 3 is a lot of fun, and it’s one of the best theme park games out there.

Children of the Sun is a great video game, designed for players who want a hyper-violent revenge story that remixes puzzle and slow-motion mechanics in a unique way. The narrative is familiar but gripping, delivered in small chunks and with a distinctive style. The entire presentation communicates dread and determination. The Girl’s ability to fire just one bullet and then control it to kill multiple targets is unique. It allows the developer to create impressive puzzles while also giving gamers freedom to explore and craft plans. Children of the Sun is immersive, dark, accessible, challenging, and fun.

Resident Evil Village is one of the best entries in the series, hands down. It has some minor issues, but nothing to interfere with the overall experience. There are tons of extras and plenty of replay value from new levels of difficulty, to new weapons, challenges to the new Mercenary mode. You will have to discover this for yourself, along with the story, since we do not want to cross into spoiler territory. You can rest assured that although the innovations are not as obvious as in the case of Biohazard, Village refines the gameplay experience and fixes the shortcomings and critics of the previous episode. We highly recommend Resident Evil Village to all fans of video games.

Elden Ring is everything that I dreamed of and more. Although I did expect From Software to refine the Souls recipe, I was quite surprised by the large amount of new mechanics and how well the Souls formula has been implemented in an open-world environment. But it’s not just the exploration aspect that makes Elden Ring the best Souls game out there. The massive open-world that doesn’t feel empty at all, the huge number of bosses and dungeons, as well as the boss fights elevate it to an entirely new level. Elden Ring is From Software at its best.

I’ve had a lot of fun exploring Silent Hill F’s stunning town and story, and I am glad to say that this is by far my favorite Silent Hill game to date. After playing the Silent Hill 2 remake, I thought that would be the epitome of the series, but this new one is even better. It retains the aura and style of the series, while adding more combat to it, and exploring an entirely new location. It’s not a very long game, but it’s intense and visceral at times, not to mention profound and extremely immersive.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a love letter to the platform games of the 90s, and at the same time, it also feels fresh. I don’t know how they did it, but this game is a masterpiece of the genre, and it stays true to the Ninja Gaiden universe. The level design is spectacular, and they did an amazing job at maintaining a high level of detail throughout the entire experience. It’s also nice to see that the two characters in the game seamlessly complement each other, and you need each character’s expertise/skills in order to move onward in the game. Also, boss battles are very cool, they manage to surpass expectations by adding sophisticated gameplay ideas, while still keeping everything engaging and very interesting. Whether you are a fan of Ninja Gaiden, platform games or want to speedrun a game, I think Ragebound delivers everything you’re looking for and much more. Yes, there are some frustrating levels, you might need to restart sections a few times, but that’s the nature of the beast.

The Grand Tournament brings exactly what Hearthstone needs - new mechanics and tons of fun - while keeping the game balanced. The addition of new rewards for Ranked Play is another positive aspect, even though it's not related to The Grand Tournament expansion.

To the Stars is fast and exciting. It takes a few minutes to get through a level and the pace of the action is often frantic. The tutorial is good and makes it easy for players to understand the stripped-down mechanics. Surprisingly, there’s also plenty of depth and variation, especially once players unlock extra civilizations. The experience’s focused nature means there’s not much in the way of world-building. But the immersion level is high, thanks to the presentation and the silly planet faces. To the Stars is a good innovative real-time strategy game that is accessible to newcomers and has enough depth and speed for genre fans.

For what is worth, The Banners Saga 3 is a fitting end for a great adventure that's meant to highlight the qualities and downsides of the human spirit: sacrifice, love, heroism, friendship vs. malice, hate, thirst for power, cowardice. The story and the objective in The Banner Saga 3 doesn't change, it only becomes bleaker and more intense. On top of that, the sense of hopelessness and despair is present now more than ever, making The Banner Saga 3 a journey full of angst and melancholy.

I had an excellent time playing Hell Clock, especially as a fan of Diablo, Titan Quest and other ARPGs. The fact that it also has a Hades-like gameplay makes it even more interesting, and the Brazilian-focused story and characters certainly help the game stand out. It’s definitely a one-of-a-kind roguelike, and one where you want to continue progressing through the story as much as possible. Aside from that, the gameplay is intense, and the level-tiered system where you have a boss every 3 major levels is incredibly addicting. Plus, you can start collecting gear and artifacts, which for me was a delight. It’s certainly a lot of fun, especially if you like the ARPG loop. I always wanted a good combination between Diablo and roguelikes, and I think Hell Clock nails that. It’s fun, intense, you have tons of loot, great music and an interesting story, so for me, it feels like the complete package, if you’re into this genre.

There is no doubt that Assassin's Creed Origin was excellent and Assassin's Creed Odyssey is better. I think that this should have been Ubisoft’s goal, to make something better, not necessarily perfect. Odyssey builds upon the foundations of a beloved franchise and I like the way it’s going forward. If Ubisoft doesn’t get too greedy and takes its time to build a proper game, the next one is going to be even better, although I have to say that it’s going to be difficult since this one is almost perfect.

Tales of Arise is a successfully comeback story. It’s definitely one of the most refreshing Tales game and probably one of the best JRPGs launched in 2021. I’m not sure if Bandai Namco planned to make the Tales franchise mainstream, but that’s something that Tales of Arise manage to achieve, and that’s probably the best compliment I can give the game. My only concern is related to how Bandai Namco chose to advertise the paid DLC in-game, which consists of cosmetic items and spice up your adventures through Dahna. Resting in camps will always run an advert in the right corner, which totally breaks immersion. Other than that, I believe Tales of Arise is not just the best game in the Tales series, but also one of the best titles launched this year. More importantly, the Tales franchise has finally gone mainstream and I’m very happy that more players are joining its fan club.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition is a better release for 2021 than it was ten years ago. The gameplay does not push past the limits of the genre but the presentation, the music, and the setting are good enough that it does not need to. The extra featured content does not justify a new purchase for those who have already gone through the adventures of Scott Pilgrim. But for anyone who knows the comics or the movie and has not played the game the new version is a good way to have hours of fun, preferably with a group of friends in coop mode.

The story, the combat system, the art style, the possibilities, the twists and also the technical performance makes Hades one of the best roguelite games released so far. It is a game that should not be missed, no matter your genre preferences.

Ultros major issue is that it isn’t as weird and hallucinatory as it wants to be. Sure, this space burial site that overflows with life offers an interesting setting with some impressive visual touches. The narrative is somewhat obscure, and occult tinged. But neither is enough to keep players engaged in the long run if they don’t already like this mix of exploration, combat, and platforming. And the game offers limited details about many of its systems, with the constant loops adding to the confusion. Ultros requires patience and a significant time investment but it offers an immersive world and good core mechanics.

Chicken Police: Into the HIVE! is a fun, often funny, and sometimes touching experience. It knows how to work within both the noir and the adventure game genres. The cast of animal characters is well-chosen, and Sonny makes for a great protagonist. Play the game in short sessions, soak in the atmosphere, and don’t be dissuaded by the more frustrating mini-games. There are a few moments when conversations feel out of sequence, depending on player choices. The puzzle elements rarely feel like they belong. Some locations feel too small. But these are limitations of the adventure game genre and Chicken Police: Into the HIVE! works hard to push past them and manages to give fans a good plot, great characters, and cool interrogation scenes.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare offers a much more innovative take on the first-person shooter series than previous installments, but it's still shackled to the core recipe of forcing players to follow allies through set piece moments in the story campaign. The multiplayer offers a higher degree of innovation and it should certainly entertain quite a lot of fans who are open to trying the new mechanics.

The Talos Principle is a delightful puzzle experience that spurs the curiosity of players both in terms of solutions to the challenges and to the philosophical nature of our existence.

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is a complex and very open game that will mainly appeal to players who loved Mimimi’s previous entries in the stealth action genre. All the mechanics are refined, and character choices open up a ton of options for each mission. Success requires patience and good planning, but improvisation often creates more memorable moments. The title tries hard to be accessible to newcomers, offering bespoke introductions for each character and solid tutorial missions. But success and progress require careful thinking, good planning, and cautious executions. It takes time and patience to master Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew and the game offers impressive set-pieces and a great sense of accomplishment in return.

UNBEATABLE is a labor of love, a game that celebrates music and wants players to love its tunes and vibe with them. The story is not always entirely coherent, but all the characters are lovely to interact with. The visual style is clearly anime-inspired but has unique touches, even if the world can seem a little empty. The game’s music is so good that even the menu tracks are bangers. Play the Arcade mode to unlock all its songs and steadily push the difficulty level up. But don’t forget to get through the story, even if it requires turning on the assist mode to get through some rhythm sequences. UNBEATABLE is a great experience for anyone who loves music and a ton of challenging fun for rhythm game enthusiasts.

Some fans will be disappointed with the limited new features that are part of the game, but FIFA 16 is more balanced than its predecessor in terms of gameplay and superior in the graphics department.

The puzzle solving aspects of the game as well as the story make Judgment one of the best detective games to grace the gaming community as a whole in recent years. Couple the epic and original story with the characters’ 3D personalities and you have the recipe for the perfect “movie that you can play”. All in all, if you love to play detective, but also have a soft spot for kicking people in their soft spots Yakuza Style, you should get your hands on Judgment right away.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is not just a love letter to fans, but also a great gift that BioWare is making to newcomers to the series. Although some of the issues present in the original games haven't been fixed, there are so many improvements to the first two Mass Effect titles that I'm willing to overlook the minor bugs. The entire trilogy sends players throughout this amazing sci-fi universe that feels alive and vibrant everywhere you look. Perhaps these games should have been remastered separately to get the attention they deserve, but having the entire trilogy in a single bundle that's perfectly playable nearly 15 years after the release of the first game is surely convenient.

The soundtrack is still quite good and the voice acting is impressive for almost all characters.

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is a delightful experience that will appeal to any gamers who like a good mystery, humor, and some solid investigative work. The small cast of characters delivers some great interactive moments and is fully voiced. All the investigative mechanics are easy to use, and the game really asks players to think about the case to reach its solution. The world is so interesting and the gameplay engaging enough that I wanted the game to be longer, which is a rarity these days. I’m hoping that McQuacklin will take more cases in the future and will have the opportunity to enjoy many more bread slices. Play Duck Detective: The Secret Salami in two or three sessions, enjoy the humor, and try to solve the mystery without resorting to hints.

Roots of Yggdrasil is a solid combination of different genres, designed to appeal to players who want to solve problems without committing to long-term city-building. The design is tight, focused on doing as much as possible using limited resources, reaching objectives in a short number of turns using every available card. The Viking theme is re-interpreted in cool ways, especially when it comes to characters, and the game has a good presentation. Play a run or two a day, focus on a clear objective for the Holt, and test out ideas. Roots of Yggdrasil’s mechanics will take some time to master for players who are unfamiliar with city or deck building but once gamers invest the energy they will get back hours of fun, tense action.

Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef is a great action game, designed from the group up for chaos and surprising moments. The mechanics and the presentation are well integrated, and the combat mechanics are top notch. I would have liked a chance to kill members of all the races of the science fiction Warhammer universe in the game. And I hope that the team at Rogueside takes the design of Shootas, Blood & Teef and expands them to give me and other players that experience.