The biggest potential issue with the game is that it offers too much freedom and too little structure. It might drive players away if they feel that their progress is too gated. But I love the feeling of freedom that Boomerang X offers when it is at its best and the huge adrenaline spike that a good fight against seven waves can deliver, regardless of the result.

Millennia is a good turn-based strategy experience that has the potential to become great after some updates and, possibly, expansions. The core idea of alternate historical ages is engaging but needs to be expanded on, with more options and more interactions. The rest of the mechanics are familiar but have just enough tweaks to keep turns interesting. The combat sequences need to go and the title should expand its diplomatic elements and trade system. The development team is planning to add modding support before the end of the year. Millennia isn’t a revolution for the 4X genre but has good ideas, even if they aren’t always matched by the execution.

I liked Dungeon of the Endless a lot, mainly due to the fact that it does pretty much everything right. It has the right balance to allow for longer play sessions once you start getting the hang of it, but it also pays respect to the roguelike elements at its core.

The scale of the new Mass Effect game, combined with the intense gameplay and exploration, makes this a must have. Don't be fooled by some of the issues justly reported by the community and give it a try. The trial version of the game is still available through Origin, and I'm sure that people won't need more than a couple of hours to decide if they like it.

Door Kickers 2: Task Force North is the kind of game that fans can easily put more than a hundred hours in without seeing all the content it has to offer. The core mechanics are accessible and quickly explained by the tutorials. And then the game delivers a wide variety of carefully built tactical challenges to solve, even before the Campaigns enter the picture. The top-down view will not be engaging for everyone, even with the more varied and colorful combat areas. The game’s fiction is limited and there’s little in the way of narrative, even in the campaign mode. Door Kickers 2: Task Force North is a great pausable real-time tactical simulation that can get even better if coming updates add extra mechanics to its campaigns.

Having played some of the previous Tales games, I can definitely say that Tales of Berseria is the best title in the series. What makes it even more appealing is the fact that you don't need to have played Tales of Zestiria or any other game in the same universe to be able to play the new one.

The Entropy Centre is a satisfying puzzle game with a unique idea at its center. Rewinding time to solve problems and move through spaces is a good concept and the execution is mostly solid. I appreciate how the game forces players to engage with the puzzles from ever-changing perspectives as they search for a solution. The title’s presentation is good, even if the rooms are largely interchangeable. Aria and ASTRA work as protagonists, even if their banter is not stellar. The Entropy Centre is the kind of puzzle experience that will attract both long-term fans of the genre and newcomers with its unique time-rewinding idea. But it stays a little too close to its inspirations, underlining how hard it is to improve on the classics.

Dice with Death creates an engaging combination of dice rolling and player choice. There’s no way to control the rolls entirely and eliminate the frustration caused by the lack of luck. But killing Death using just the right mix of character, relics, and dice faces is very satisfying. It helps that the old-school presentation allows gamers to focus on thinking about their rolls, the potential combinations, and the moment when risking it all is worth it. Dice With Death doesn’t transform the Balatro-like game category, but it creates tense runs and rewards players who are unafraid to take risks.

Beyond Earth is just as innovative when it comes to the mechanics of the turn-based strategy series as Civilization V was before it and gamers will need a bit of time to become accustomed to the increased customization, the tech web and the powerful challenge posed by the alien life.

All in all, A Plague Tale: Innocence will leave you empty inside once you finish it, like any good book or movie would, and like any good game should.

Dungeon Drafters delivers on its core concept of mixing turn-based tactics with card play. It takes a little time to get going and get a clear idea of how to modify the deck and what kind of cards are best suited to a particular strategy. But there’s a wide variety of approaches and the tactical puzzles are fun and challenging.I would have liked some navigational aids for the hub town and more help from the game when it comes to deck building. But Dungeon Drafters rewards players who are willing to invest time with beautifully crafted dungeons and engaging card and tile-driven battles.

Cursed to Golf is not a sports sim but it will deliver many more thrills than any careful reconstruction of real-world golf can. Getting the ball into the hole using my last shot by carefully using an Ace card and plenty of spin made me scream with joy. I almost cried when two successive shots somehow landed in the water. But players also need to be prepared for a fast escalation of the difficulty level that can lead to frustration. Practice and good planning are always more important than wild swings. Cursed to Golf is a solid puzzle experience with good presentation and some big thrilling moments.

The game has a compelling atmosphere and very good writing, and although there are some slight technical issues that pop up from time to time, they are easily cast aside by the immersive quality of the experience.

Ironcast is a small game that manages to integrate some very cool mechanics in engaging ways and the fact that, at its core, it embraces the impact of dying associated with rogue-like titles makes each campaign unique.

Golf Club: Wasteland is a good game but not because of the quality of its actual golfing experience. Putting balls into holes is serviceable. There are some well-designed levels but there are also some frustrating ones. Don’t feel any guilt if you play on Story mode and get as much of the narrative as you can, without bothering with hazards or limits. But the developers at Demagog understand how to create atmosphere and how to let the world tell a story. Radio Nostalgia is an impressive achievement, especially the songs. The team does need to find a game theme and a set of mechanics that allows them to flex their world-building muscles in more expansive ways than Golf Club: Wasteland can.

Pine Hearts is a very cute experience that tells an emotional story. I like the exploration and the way Tyke gradually gets new abilities that open up new paths and options. The memory systems deliver some big emotional moments. Characters might not talk but the world is inviting and colorful. The adventure is pretty short but some of the gameplay elements still have time to become repetitive. Pine Hearts mixes light gameplay and fun conversations with an exploration of loss while giving players a beautiful world to explore.

Minds Beneath Us is spectacular when delivering slice-of-life moments, both if they involve the main character and when it comes to ancillary conversations in the background. It’s also good at creating an interesting vision of the future while offering a core narrative that tackles modern themes in engaging ways. Its presentation adds to the immersion level, although the lack of faces will be a little disturbing. Its mechanics do not stray from the adventure game standard and when they do QTEs make an unwelcome appearance. A few conversations are over-written, especially when the game tries to focus on emotions. But Minds Beneath Us offers a good enough story that these are small problems. Play around a full day at a time and savor every interaction.

For those who love the genre, Codemasters has created a great way to interact with the world of rally racing, and this is a game that will allow them to spend tens of hours tweaking setups, choosing their favorite car and competing with friends in the multiplayer events.

OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood is a solid sequel that manages to provide quite a bit of innovation through its Manual system, while bringing more varied layouts and a slightly smoother difficulty curve. However, it still requires a lot of practice and can prove to be rather confusing when the level and visual design aren't that clear.

Weird West has a great set of gameplay mechanics that don’t always deliver the best experience. The five-character stories have great moments, although the side-quests are often more engaging. You can take down an important enemy in three ways or more, but the chaotic aftermath might be impossible to handle. Using all the money obtained from a job to replace bullets and medicine is not a way to make progress. But I appreciated the interaction between systems, the way the world reacts to player actions, and the many unexpected encounters. Weird West does have frustrating elements but it offers the kind of experience that’s rare in modern games, one filled with surprises, mysteries, and consequences.

Space Prison combines a cool science-fiction premise with some innovative twists on combat and rogue-lite mechanics. I like that players have to worry about hunger and desperation more than they have to do about hit points. Using rats as companions early on feels a little weird but a mecha version can be created toward the game’s end, which is pretty awesome. Still, the experience can be frustrating. Encounters will become repetitive while battles don’t have a lot of depth. Space Prison is a very open video game that rewards careful preparation and extensive exploration, as long as gamers do not abandon it after the first few deaths.

Earth Must Die is dedicated to fans of classic adventure video games. It is also accessible enough for players who want to see what the genre has to offer. The story feels like a fun and weird science fiction short story, more focused on launching joke salvos than being entirely coherent. The characters and the associated voice work make it worth seeing through. The mechanics are easy to pick up, while the puzzles aren’t egregiously illogical. This is an experience best enjoyed in sessions of around two hours, or shorter if the puzzles become annoying. Earth Must Die is proof that decent writing paired with classic gameplay is still a good combination for modern adventure games.

Hand of Fate is an interesting game that will certainly appeal to those who want to see how the card-based approach could be expanded in meaningful ways in the coming years.

The Troop has a strong mechanical foundation. Its ideas will be instantly recognizable for anyone who has played a World War II tactics-driven title before. But it also introduces nice tweaks that reflect how real-world battles were fought on D-Day. The computer is also smart enough to deliver some nice surprises, especially when it can achieve local superiority. The campaign is the best way to experience its ideas but there’s also plenty of variety in the Skirmish mode. Developers at Giant Flame have created the rare World War II strategy title that is both approachable and deep. The Troop is a great purchase for anyone who likes the Normandy battles and turn-based combat.

The Lost Crown deserves a chance both from new players and old-time fans of the franchise. Yes, you do not play with the prince, but that does not affect the game experience. Ubisoft managed to put together a challenging and very enjoyable experience that mixes elements from different genres into a real good end result. The first big title of 2024 is a pleasant surprise, and while it may not be the sequel many have expected, it is a game that shows the dedication of the team from Montpelier.

Sure, the story is nothing impressive. There are moments when the generated levels do not make too much sense. Progress sometimes hinges on the placement of one health chest or one group of enemies. But, despite the randomness, Jupiter Hell feels fair and there’s a lot of depth to discover in this surprising mix.

Goblins of Elderstone is a good mix of city building and strategy experience. It takes time and effort to create an efficient village, constantly checking where resources are needed and who is best suited to working in certain buildings. It’s also a pleasure to see the goblin tribe prosper and interact with the world. The strategic layer, with its raids and trade elements, adds an interesting dimension to the game but could be enhanced to make it more interesting. The narrative elements also need more variety. But otherwise, Goblins of Elderstone has solid mechanics and will satisfy any player who loves developing a city and running an economy in a fantasy universe.

A worthwhile remake of the classic Sierra point-and-click adventure game. However, big-time fans of the original will most likely dislike some aspects of the newer incarnation.