If not for the solid core gameplay, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide would be just another cash grab. There are so many things unfinished in this game that you can’t help but wonder if this is another case of “publisher forces developer to launch the game.” With Fatshark’s pedigree, this could have been an amazing game, especially if everything that was promised prior to release would actually be in the game. It feels like developers planned to add many of the missing features after release, but it might already be too late. Players pool is already dwindling, so by the time the game is fixed, there might not be too many people to play it. That’s such a shame because Warhammer 40,000: Darktide had so much potential.

The most dedicated of horror fans will find some things to love here but most gamers might become frustrated. I understand that the team at SWORD was working with limited resources. But they should have focused more on the delivery of more weird moments and somewhat scarier sequences. The Fridge Is Red has one good idea and never quite manages to create a good video game around it.

I desperately wanted The Callisto Protocol to be a success so that we can have another Dead Space-like franchise to look forward to, but as it stands, I can’t recommend this game, especially until its issues are fixed in a future patch. I do hope that if there’s a sequel, developers will come up with something fresh to make us forget about the first game.

Somber is a cute and small experience with good presentation and mechanics. It constantly adds movement options and delivers some interesting puzzles to then engage with. But there’s nothing entirely new in terms of gameplay and the beauty of the world can feel a little empty. This is especially weird given that the game is also pretty short. This is a game that’s best suited for newcomers to the action platforming genre or for younger gamers who are discovering its ideas. Somber has good quality for a title created by a team of three and I am interested in seeing if their next experience can be more innovative when it comes to mechanic

Sail Forth might appear a little too simple at first, but it has mechanical depth. It is hard but satisfying to put together a solid fleet with varied capabilities and find ways to constantly improve its effectiveness. The game offers quite a few narrative threads to pull on. Even if the story and characters are not its best element, the sailing and management more than make up for them. Players who expect a full-on open-world experience might be disappointed. But the smaller areas deliver extra meaning for each encounter, regardless of whether it is another pirate fight or a race, or something else. Sail Forth doesn’t deliver on all its mechanics but it nails the sense of freedom and exploration.

Terracotta is a game for players who can appreciate its mix of tough puzzles, unique universe, and two-dimensional mechanics. The game slowly adds more complexity, which is a good thing given its overall difficulty level. It’s not recommended for newcomers but will appeal to anyone who needs a tough action exploration experience. My biggest issue is that there’s no way to deal with the frustration of failure. There’s no choice of difficulty levels and constant death is not a great teaching tool. Terracotta’s gameplay innovations are good but players will need to invest time and energy if they want to experience everything that it has to offer.

Kainga: Seeds of Civilization has an interesting core idea, with its mix of classic city builder and rogue-lite structure. It offers an entirely new way of looking at simple actions, like picking techs or thinking about victory conditions. The game also has a well-defined style and is welcoming to newcomers. Make sure to consult the encyclopedia to see all the unlocks and how they can fit into different strategies. But I like its ideas more than their implementation. I love city building when it’s big, complex, time-consuming and Kainga: Seeds of Civilization simply has too many limitations to keep me engaged. But its short episodes and focus on opening up new areas and new thinkers will certainly appeal to gamers who want a new take on a classic genre.

Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm is one of the best-organized and most accessible titles in the wargaming space. It still asks gamers to invest quite a bit of time to understand all the mechanics and the historical period it is portraying. But the reward is a gripping Cold War alternate history game that creates a lot of choice-driven narratives. Start off with the tutorials and the associated PDFs. Then pick one scenario and try to really master it, making sure to understand why everything happens and what strategies work without relying on luck. I hope Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm attracts both veterans of the genre and newcomers, allowing it to establish itself as the hex-driven strategy title for the late Cold War period.

The Feast is more of an interesting experiment than a full-fleshed video game. I don’t have a problem with the short duration of its story or the small number of endings. The atmosphere and some of the emotional moments are very well put together. But gameplay is limited and the player is too much of a blank slate to motivate players. A little more context would have helped in this area. How players react to the entire experience will depend on their love for dark stories, absurdity, and creepy moments. The Feast shows the developers at Sever have a good grasp of their ability to create narrative and atmosphere, but they need to work on their approach to gameplay.

Master of Magic is an interesting remake of an old game that defined a genre. It’s clear that the development team loves the original and wanted to keep as much of it unchanged as possible. But the result feels old and might struggle to attract the attention of players who have not enjoyed the 1994 title. I grew up playing a ton of Heroes of Might & Magic, so I had a clear reference point for the mechanics and pace. For newcomers, the entire experience can be a little slow and somewhat bewildering. But for those who have a history with strategy and RPG mixes, Master of Magic will deliver well-executed classic ideas and tens of hours of spell-enhanced fun.

Chained Echoes is a deep JRPG that will satisfy fans of the genre but is easy enough to understand to attract novices. The combat system, centered Overdrive balancing, is interesting and pretty fast for the genre. The universe, with its mix of influences and retro presentation, offers plenty of secrets and details. I would have appreciated fewer battles but with bigger consequences and, maybe, increased difficulty. But for anyone who wants a solid party-driven role-playing experience, Chained Echoes is a good choice, made with a lot of love, able to keep players engaged for its 30 hours long story.

Wavetale remains a hidden indie jewel that could have benefited from more QA before being released on console, even though that would have certainly involved pouring more resources into a game that was initially launched on Google Stadia. For starters, fixing the music issues and the freezes would be mandatory in order to prevent discouraging people from trying it. For what is worth, Wavetale does a single thing well and that's the sliding mechanic, which is probably the only true selling point of the game. From the beginning to end, surfing the waves remains the main charm of Wavetale. It is a remarkable first effort, and one can only hope that it is enough to make people notice Wavetale and grant the developers the chance to make a sequel building upon the existing formula.

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.

Disciples: Liberation brings some interesting new ideas to the series, but that doesn’t mean they’re all good. I didn’t like the fact that the game forces you to choose between the bad guy and the very bad guy by making choices that many times don’t make sense. In the end, Liberation is saved by the incredibly well-done tactical combat system that provide a lot of fun, especially when you find that combo that wipes out almost all enemies on the map in just one turn. Although it’s not really what I expected, I believe Disciples: Liberation is worth playing and definitely warrants a sequel.

Thanks to an amazing cast that’s doing an outstanding job, a compelling story told through the eyes of multiple characters, and top-notch combat, this epic and heartfelt journey strikes all the right chord. It’s impossible not to recommend God of War Ragnarok, but just in case you had any doubts, I strongly advise anyone mildly interested in gaming to play Santa Monica Studio’s latest masterpiece.

Togges is one of the happiest video games I have played recently. It is focused on giving the player freedom to explore, then learn from his mistakes, and finally find innovative ways to deal with obstacles. Despite the easy-to-understand concepts, the experience also offers a lot of depth, especially for someone who wants to see everything in each world. Steam offers a demo for the game, for players who are intrigued by its ideas. I liked dropping a trail of living cubes, covering the world, having fun, and seeing secrets before finding ways to reach them. Togges mixes platformer and puzzle concepts in a unique way and is an excellent entry point for anyone who wants to explore these types of mechanics.

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign is a good historical strategy game. It gives players lots tools to affect their world and quickly produces results that bear little resemblance to the real past. Kingdoms fall in spectacular fashion and players need to carefully play their hand to gain new lands without attracting the attention of powerful neighbors. I do think the knights from the title should have more ways to interact with each other and the world around them. But the mix of interactions, classic development mechanics, and tactical battles offers a strong mix of ideas. Knights of Honor II: Sovereign will be fun both for long-term grand strategy fans and newcomers to this genre.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is clearly a departure from Firaxis’ typical turn-based strategy formula, but it’s a successful one. Bar some performance issues, the game is very enjoyable despite locking you into a loop that requires you to take part in both aspects of the game: combat and social. There’s a lot to do outside of combat in Marvel’s Midnight Suns that it’s hard to get bored. The way that Firaxis manage to “port” the entire base-building and ability upgrading parts from XCOM to their new game is absolutely genius. Marvel’s Midnight Suns is the perfect example that we can actually have great superheroes games, it’s just a matter of choosing the right studio to make them.

At the end of the day, Unbound is one of the best racing games this year, and the return of Criterion has proved to be the winning card for EA. It’s a fun game to play, there’s no doubt about it, and proper support for new-gen consoles means it could stay around for quite a long time.

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.

Soccer Story is a good mix of soccer matches and adventure elements, with a world packed with side activities and cute details. It takes a little while to get used to the quick, tackle-driven matches. Playing an upgraded team against a solid computer opponent is both challenging and fun. This football-powered universe might not make a ton of sense but it is interesting to explore. It would work better with a smaller number of side activities. Soccer Story offers an exotic approach to the sport and builds a ton of fun mechanics around the simple act of kicking a ball at a target.

Reborn is by far the best version of Tactics Ogre. Adding many much-needed quality-of-life improvements and removing some of the more tedious mechanics have completely turned Tactics Ogre into a very enjoyable experience, despite its difficulty. In between the tough fights, a great story unfolds that you really learn to appreciate after several hours into the game. Above all that, Tactics Ogre: Reborn proves that the game that established an entire genre remains relevant no matter how much time has passed since its original release.

The Knight Witch is a good game with well-executed familiar mechanics. Combat, especially in the bigger and more open areas, is a joy, even when it’s against a tough boss with some dirty tricks up his mechanical sleeve. The narrative is interesting enough, even if some of the fourth-wall-breaking might be hit or miss, and the game looks impressive. Play it in short sessions, with a clear goal in mind and a willingness to tweak approaches on failure (don’t forget about the cheat options). The Knight Witch offers a good mix of action and exploration, even for players who have little experience with the genre.

Heidelberg 1693 is a hard game and will not be to everyone’s liking. Just like old school platformers it shows no mercy and forces you to “git gud”. The replay value is pretty high, and the most dedicated players are rewarded with a Hard Mode that makes things even more nightmarish. Even though the musket mechanic is fresh and enjoyable, the game itself does not reinvent the classic formula. Those who remember fondly Castlevania or Ghost ’n Goblins will have a blast playing Heidelberg 1693, and the chance to revisit their childhood traumas.

At the end of the day, maybe Gungrave isn’t necessarily the best game of the year, but on the other hand, it’s not the worst either. Playing it is fun, and for fans of the series, it’s a great way to get a taste of what the original iteration of the series was all about.

Live by the Sword: Tactics will be a great experience for gamers who fell in love with the role-playing tactics titles of their youth and are susceptible to the draw of nostalgia. The story mode has solid battles, although the narrative does not impress. Adventure mode puts an interesting new spin on the core mechanics. But the game is unlikely to draw in players who don’t already like what it has to offer. It needs a stronger narrative hook or more innovation and accessibility. Live by the Sword: Tactics is a nice project for a small development team and fulfills its core promise of delivering a good classic tactics RPG experience.

Simulacra 3 is a good horror-themed mystery game and will certainly appeal to those who are familiar with the series’ previous installments and like what they deliver. For newcomers, the lack of actual exploration will be a minus, but the game works hard to compensate with its videos, images, and maps. Try to treat the experience as a psychologically-driven TV series, engage with it in installments, and you will likely have a decent time.

Evil West manages to do a great job entertaining players and that’s what all games should do. Despite some mediocre writing and lack of memorable characters, Evil West delivers on its promise to provide players with an exhilarating gameplay experience.