A Little to the Left is one of the most comfortable video games I have played in a while. The puzzles are good to excellent, some with multiple solutions, all with attached easy-to-use hints, complete with the options to simply move on to the next. But the game shines because it nails the presentation and connects it so deeply to its puzzles.

At the end of the day, FIFA 23 is a release that’ll probably keep many players on board next year when EA Sports FC will be thrown into the battle for the very first time. It’s a major release in pretty much every regard, and while some things are missing, such as VAR and the support for only three substitutions, this is by far the best FIFA. Ever.

Wargroove 2 is one of the best smallish-scale tactics titles I have played recently, offering a wide variety of cool scenarios in its campaigns as well as extra variety with Conquest. The turn-to-turn action is compelling, and players have space to tweak the difficulty to suit their needs. The title’s presentation is charming while also informative. It might not innovate as much as fans of the original might want, but Wargroove 2 offers tens of hours of tactical fun and gives its player community the tools to create even more.

It managed to exceed my expectations. It looks gorgeous and feels polished. Unfortunately, it’s also technically inconsistent. I died many times due to performance issues at the most inopportune moment and the cutscenes were marred by lag and freezes. But there’s a great game underneath all the unoptimized fluff.

The game is incredibly enjoyable, and if it weren't for the difficulty, I swear I’d probably give it another try.

The game engine is clearly improved and the defensive options are working almost too well for both the player and the Artificial Intelligence, which can create more tense matches and new challenges for fans to overcome.

Forza Motorsport 7 is a yuuge game, and by that, I mean that it’s massive, and by massive I mean gigantic. You get the picture. I can’t really picture myself playing it for less than half a year. With so many races in single player, with the multiplayer choices, and the option to build your own races, people are going to have this game installed for a long time. I can’t speak about replayability because you’re not going to uninstall it anytime soon. People are going to play it over and over again, with no end in sight. Surprisingly, the goal of Forza Motorsport 7 is not to win but to get credits to buy cars. If you don’t mind the presence of microtransactions, and you convince yourself that you can grind away for credits, you’re going to love Forza Motorsport 7.

Galactic Civilizations III is a great game, containing a mix of familiar mechanics and new ideas that can keep both fans and newcomers occupied for a frighteningly long period of time...The best thing about the new Stardock-created turn-based experience is that it is so customizable, and the experience of playing in the resulting galaxies creates stories that are consistently fun and filled with surprises.

The Eternal Cylinder has a cool story, interesting exploration mechanics, a good unique idea in the mutations, and solid presentation. While it starts off a little slow, once it gets going it kept me engaged and pushing forward. The trebhums might be too cute for their own good but it’s nice to see how they solve puzzles via mutations while navigating their cylinder threatened planet. ACE Team has specialized in weird worlds, but this is the first time the studio has managed to craft one that is also beautiful and immersive. Sometimes I wanted the gameplay spaces to be a little bigger, or even entirely open world. But I understand that The Eternal Cylinder needs structure and hope that the easy-to-understand mechanics and cute protagonists will allow a wide range of players to engage with the game.

Europa Universalis V is big, varied, and engrossing. Playing France is very different from starting as the Golden Horde, which poses a whole other set of challenges than guiding a Native American tribe or China through history. The game’s systems constantly challenge players to make big choices, even when they don’t engage with a dynamic events chain or ponder how to get out of a disaster. Simply managing internal politics and economics, from developing provinces to balancing the demands of the estates, is a game in itself. Diplomacy, trading, and warfare add layers of possibility and challenge. Europa Universalis V will give grand strategy fans hundreds of hours of fun, but might be difficult for newcomers to fully enjoy at first.

I would love to play a take on Mega Man that’s built with the present in mind, and not linked to the past. As it stands right now, I have no problem saying that Mega Man 11 is probably the best in the series, but it’s also showing that the series has to come up with something new, especially now that they’ve shown what’s possible.

If you’re the kind of person that enjoys story and an immersive experience over gameplay mechanics and action, you’ll surely have a blast with this game, in spite of its largely straightforward puzzles, empty world and some other issues that prevent it from being a true masterpiece.

Cairn is a game that came out of nowhere and immediately grabbed my attention with its gripping story, engaging climbing and numerous threats or challenges found along the way. It’s the type of game that you think of the entire day, trying to figure out what to do next and what route you need to take. It’s a climbing game, as it is a puzzle and exploration-focused experience. It’s nice that the game runs smoothly, there’s no pressure and it’s more about your skills and determination. Cairn mimics real life when it comes to climbing, but it also keeps some interesting ideas, and it continues to be incredibly fun. Yes, it will take a while to get used to the controls, but once you get past that, you will see it’s a very solid, albeit challenging experience. It will give you around 10-15 hours of excitement and fun, along with a reason to always come back and see all the side content or secrets.

Aliens: Dark Descent is a very good video game that takes the best elements of its franchise and finds great ways to build gameplay around them. Moving through dark corridors, paying constant attention to the motion tracker, and thinking about how to best use limited resources, is fun and immersive. The stress mechanic means that even winning battles can have steep costs, forcing players to think of alternate ways of achieving objectives. Aliens: Dark Descent doesn’t redefine its genre but its mechanics are strong, the narrative has interesting beats, and few other tactics-focused titles use their fictional as effectively.

Rhythm Doctor doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but the gameplay that it provides is engaging, fun and very addictive. You will find yourself trying to play one more time, hoping you’ll achieve a great rating for the next level. Plus, the spin they added where you are healing patients with these beats feels very fulfilling. It seems like you’re doing something more than just enjoying your time, you’re also helping people feel better, too. The game is not meant to be difficult, instead it’s continually offering you an innate sense of fun, with a great dose of humor along the way. Rhythm Doctor made me laugh, lose my mind at times, but overall, it’s a great experience for rhythm game lovers, but also those that want to unwind and step away from life’s challenges. It’s a game where every moment is worth it, no matter if you fail and you have to start over. There’s always the satisfaction of trying to save someone, and the happiness that comes from succeeding. That’s why Rhythm Doctor is a game everyone should try, especially if you need a healthy dose of good time.

Steve Jackson's Sorcery! loves to surprise players and to thwart their expectations about fantasy worlds, creating tension by making sure that the player is always looking for that out-of-place detail or conversation line that will help him decide how to best solve a situation.

Even if we ignore the ridiculous quantity of content, and we focus only on the main storyline, we still get an amazing experience. Far Cry 5 is not the game we expected, but it’s exactly what we should have wanted in the first place.

Tekken 8 feels like a great game that with a bit more tuning could have been the best fighting game out there. The last fight of the campaign feels unnecessarily long, the Arcade Quest mode could have been made into a better fit with the rest of the game and there are some other aspects that commenting upon almost feels like nitpicking. Tekken 8 remains one of the best fighting games available, but it does not have a secret move to beat Mortal Kombat 1 or Street Fighter 6. There is no clear winner, and it all comes down to personal taste and which universe do you prefer.

Forgive Me Father 2 is a good boomer shooter that builds on the ideas of the original. The action is fast and pretty brutal, with a focus on delivering as many headshots as possible while moving constantly to avoid damage. The Asylum and its unlocks allow gamers to try out strategies and find weapons that match their approach. The game’s atmosphere is designed to appeal to players who like Lovecraft vibes, although it does not offer much in the way of straight-up horror. Forgive Me Father 2 improves on an already established formula but needs extra weirdness or one big innovative mechanic.

Some minor nuisances aside, I definitely enjoyed saving the president’s daughter once again, and the new elements made the experience feel much more than just a trip down memory lane with improved graphics.

The Ratline challenges players to find Nazi criminals using nothing more than their own brainpower, limited starting information, and the ability to chat up people and search an archive. Its mysteries are inspired by history, with plenty of details that will probably lead some to learn more about World War II and the real ratline but also have plenty of solid fictional twists and turns. The investigation action is decent but limited by the genre’s core ideas. The phone conversations add a little variety, but this is still a game about reading, re-reading, and thinking while looking at photos. The Ratline is designed for fans of titles like The Roottrees Are Dead or The Golden Idol who are looking for more puzzles to crack open.

Arto is the rare indie that impresses visually without relying on the classic pixel art style with a layer of nostalgia. Each of the deities creates its own picket universe, with a unique theme, and the idea that players are constantly spreading color while moving works well with all of them. I literally spent one full hour simply making sure that Goya’s world is fully covered in color. The spectacle only works because the game also has good mechanics. Combat is fast and Liv is responsive, able to deal with bosses without generating too much frustration. The game’s fantasy world also meshes well with its mechanics. Arto is bright and fun, a lovely experience that shows the power of a great idea combined with an impressive presentation.

Galactic Civilizations IV has a solid foundation, in terms of mechanics and presentation, but needs to add polish. I like the wide-ranging customization offered at the start of a campaign and how the early game moves. But the experience needs more excitement for the middle game and extra variety in terms of events and challenges. The title is too sculpted to suit the tastes of those who has picked up the previous two titles in the series. It rewards solid planning and careful execution; it asks players to learn the connections between mechanics and to exploit them. But to truly flourish, Galactic Civilizations IV needs to try to add a little revolution to its evolution-driven approach to turn-based strategy.

In the end, if you fancy going for better loot, fight more powerful enemies, and unlock all kinds of cool items, Warhammer: Vermintide 2 seems like a dream come true. Even with the bugs and the slightly unbalanced system, it’s a game that still tricks me somehow into playing just one more map.

Luto is definitely a great spiritual successor to P.T. and a solid horror game, all in all. Not only does it cover some incredible topics, and it can get very scary, but at the same time, it’s beautifully made and without any performance issues, at least in my experience. I am a fan of the world design, the story they are showcasing, and how weird the game manages to become sometimes. The fact that they blatantly cover serious topics like anxiety, life, depression or grief is great, and it all seamlessly connects into the story. I will be honest, I did not expect the game to end this way, and for the story to be so gripping. Also, it’s great that the game is not very long, either, since you can see the conclusion in just half a dozen hours of gameplay, at most. Luto manages to nail the emotional roller-coaster that they embark us on, while also maintaining a sense of gravitas and a visual style that’s unlike anything you will find out there. It might be a debut title, sure, but it’s an excellent one, and I am looking forward to see what Broken Bird Games will come up with next time.

Harebrained Schemes has managed to once again impress by adding a few, but only a few, good improvements to the recipe, while delivering a very interesting setting and some imaginative missions. However, it might not feel like a whole new experience, just "more of the same."

Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked brings a great D&D theme to the already popular Demeo experience, and it shines in coop. The 2 campaigns available at launch are great, fun to play, but also frustrating at times due to overpowered enemies you encounter along the way. It does become very chaotic in multiplayer, while playing single-player offers a more tactical experience. For me, Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked was a great way to delve back into D&D and it felt great to play. The battles are very fast-paced for a turn-based title, you still get to focus on tactics and strategy, while also enjoying great quests and very good voice-overs. If you want to make the most out of it, going the VR or co-op route is the best idea. But regardless, it’s a good entry in the Demeo universe, especially if you’re new to tactics and turn based games.

Between Horizons is a pretty traditional representative of the adventure game genre, with some solid modern touches. Stella’s story is affecting, and The Zephyr works well as the setting for a science-fiction mystery that features fundamental ethical dilemmas and big emotional moments. Gathering clues via scanning and discussion is mostly engaging but it can be hard to deal with the amount of evidence stored in the PDA. I suspect the game’s graphics will also be hard to engage with for some players. Between Horizons is immersive and tense, although it doesn’t massively tweak the adventure game formula.