After the disappointing Cold War, Vanguard was the game that many fans have put their faith in. But due to rocky start, the countless bugs the completely unbalanced multiplayer and the incomplete zombies mode, this year’s Call of Duty is just another nail in the coffin of once great franchise. Shaken by various scandals on every front, it is clear that Activision does not care about anything else just cashing in the yearly checks. It is sad that the collaboration between Sledgehammer, Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox and Highmoon cannot produce something more than Vanguard. The first Warzone season might improve things starting with 2nd of December, but I will not hold my breath.

Football Manager 2022 is a great take on the most popular sport of the world. It provides ways for both casual and obsessive fans to get more involved with their favorite club or almost any other team they want. The new animation system changes the experience quite a lot, both visually and tactically. Some transfer action might feel a little unreal and the game still generates new players that sometimes make little sense. But this is a solid game with a lot of options and plenty of incredible moments.

The outstanding art style is complemented by an audio part, building an atmosphere that invites you to explore and get lost in the game world. The apparently simple gameplay can be misleading and even a small mistake can cost you dearly. If you are not put off by the lack of action or combat, you will enjoy this game for an afternoon or two.

The gimmick of using a PlayStation 1 presentation might attract an audience. But the game needs more than style to keep players engaged, even if only for the around three hours the story needs to reveal itself. Chasing Static has some good elements but it never manages to get the right mix for a truly engaging experience.

All in all, The Medium is a good game, but not revolutionary and certainly not the new king of the genre. The story and atmosphere will stay with you long after finishing it, but the gameplay has a lot of room for improvement. If you prioritize a good story and a masterfully crafted atmosphere The Medium will not disappoint.

Tandem: A Tale of Shadows is a good game for anyone looking for hours of well-designed puzzles in some interesting locations. I appreciated how it organically expands the ways the two characters interact with the world. I liked the puzzle design, especially when it emphasizes how important it is for Emma to create paths for Fenton. But the game needs much more than good mechanics to stand out. The story never manages to become truly engaging. The triumphant pose that Emma strikes when the pair solves a room quickly becomes grating. The presentation fails to add much to the game. Tandem: A Tale of Shadows shows the Monochrome Paris has ideas and the ability to execute but they need to work on how they package them to capture a bigger fan base.

Without a doubt, Back 4 Dead is all about the co-op gameplay and mixed with the newly introduced card system. If you combine the two, killing those ugly creatures is extremely fun, though be warned, it’s also extremely challenging as well. On the other hand, if you’re not the biggest fan of co-op multiplayer and would rather stick with the solo mode, this isn’t as exciting as it should be. Though, as I said, even the co-op multiplayer has a bad side, as the overall experience depends on your team and their way of playing the game.

At the end of the day, NHL 22 just feels like a transition to a kind of gameplay that would eventually feel even more real, probably not this year but in the upcoming releases. It’s still fun to play, and the graphics are clearly the best improvement on new-gen consoles, but otherwise, those who want to get the game on old-gen wouldn’t necessarily notice a massive refresh.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a good superhero game. It may not be the best out there, but it is in the top 5. If you are a true Marvel fan familiar with the Guardians of the Galaxy universe it hits the perfect notes in almost perfect order. It tried to balance the videogames gameplay with a cinematic experience, focusing on delivering a quality single player experience. It does not miss the multiplayer or co-op experience at all, and you can feel that it was made with care. Guardians of the Galaxy makes us forget about the grindy gameplay of Avengers and proves that Square Enix can deliver an engaging experience.

Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality is a game for people who are already fans of the television show and care about the characters and all the references to their past adventures. If you come into this experience cold you will need to constantly consult a wiki or a video to understand what and why you have to do. Even for fans, a straight-up television arc based on the concepts of the video game might be more enjoyable.

Aeon Drive delivers a very focused experience for anyone who loves classic platformer action and wants to test their skills against other players on constantly updated leaderboards. There are a lot of cities to get through and plenty of paths to master using the teledagger. But the game would be much more engaging if it dropped the 30-second limit. It could have attracted hardcore players with achievements and collectibles while making itself more accessible for those with reduced reflexes.

Sure, art of rally is about the fun of rallying, but if it does put the focus on car handling and other sim-inspired elements, it should further refine the corner-cutting system too. It’s not cheating, it’s just a way to improve your racing times. Other than that, there’s no doubt, the PS5 version of art of rally only makes the game more enjoyable. There’s not much you’ll be getting in terms of graphics, especially since the low-poly system that it uses, but the aforementioned mix makes it an enjoyable way to get a taste of historical racing.

Inscryption is another great experience from Daniel Mullins and his studio. Their take on the already very crowded card game and rogue combination is a unique but recognizable one. I liked the combat, the level of complexity, the challenge posed by the bosses. And I loved the way it integrates with the wider world of the game and the story it tells. I would like to see more use for the sacrifice mechanic and some extra ways to cheat the rules. But self-aware creatures, cards that immortalize failed runs, and general creepiness add a lot to the core concepts. Inscryption has all the necessary ingredients to set a new standard of quality for its genre and keep fans engaged for tens of hours.

At the end of the day, NBA 2K22 feels like it comes with two separate modes: offline for those who just want to have fun and aren’t necessarily NBA superstars and multiplayer for people willing to spend real money and get their high-rated players overnight.

Bonfire Peaks tries a little too hard to make relatively simple concepts seem deep and meaningful. The narrative of the unknown man is too laconic to be engaging in the long run. The gameplay, while delivering brilliant moments of discovery and achievement, is too repetitive. The two only connect in a meaningful way because of their lack of complexity. The game does have atmosphere and it’s clear that Corey Martin has designed every element of the experience to generate and sustain it. And whether you find that effort successful will depend a lot on personal preference. Give Bonfire Peaks a try, play for a few hours and find out whether this particular mix of puzzle and atmosphere appeals.

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.

Just like Ancestors, AWAY: The Survival Series is based on an interesting idea, but the end result is far from being entertaining or even educational. Instead of being a nature documentary it is a rudimentary combination of platformers with a bad combat system and even worse stealth mechanic. Perhaps the greatest drama here is that AWAY: The Survival Series fails both as a game and as an interactive documentary. The numerous bugs still present in the game ruin even the last ounces of potential, turning it into something you better stay away from.

Lost Judgment is more of the same with some fine tuning, but there are no revolutionary updates. There are more activities than ever, but the interface is the very same. There is a more fluid a spectacular combat system, but the AI is just the same. The analysis of the environment for clues still feels underdeveloped, and the tailing of people is still clunky, despite the new mechanics. If you liked the first episode, you’ll love this one, despite the high school drama. If you did not play Judgment you can start with the new game to see how well it suits your tastes, since it can be enjoyed without knowing past events. All in all, it is a good sequel to a promising franchise.

FIFA 22 is undoubtedly a step forward for the franchise, and the new Hypermotion engine on new-gen consoles is totally worth it, though it’s pretty clear it’s not everybody’s cup of tea. EA clearly has a lot of things to polish in FIFA 22, and the first update that is already live on PC is the living proof the company is very committed to doing this in the short term.

I did not love the experience of playing this Subliminal title. The game is too focused on backtracking through the various areas to complete quests and side activities. Button City is, probably, a good game for younger players who might not have engaged with the genres it replicates in the arcade. Play it with a kid if you are a parent and tell them there are better versions of everything they see here out there to try and master. But the developers are good at creating a game world that draws evokes nostalgia. Their characters are fun and whimsical, although they do need more depth. Button City is a limited video game but, if the studio focuses on its strengths, it can surely create a world where the gameplay and the world are better synchronized.

Severed Steel will be a massive video game for a narrow group of gamers. If you love perfecting a plan and then spending as much time as needed to both car3efully and quickly execute it, you will love this experience. Running on a wall, diving through a window, all the time dodging enemy attacks, only to then slide and kill two enemies before finding a safe space is a fun time. But the game can also frustrate and annoy. The levels could be a little bigger and more varied. I like the restrictions on weapon use, but some players will hate it. But the development team at Greylock knows that the first-person shooter needs to evolve to be interesting and they have some good ideas about whether the genre should go. Even if you don’t love Severed Steel keep an eye out for what they work on next.

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.

Astria Ascending is a gorgeous, very ambitious and at the same time flawed experience. It has deep mechanics, but their implementation could have used some more attention. The graphics are as gorgeous as some tracks are memorable, but sometimes they are out of sync. The background story is rich, yet the game fails to use it, making you do to the very same actions in different locations. If you like old school JRPGs you will overlook the shortcomings and have a good time with the game. If you never had a soft spot for the game best represented by Final Fantasy, Astria Ascending will not make you fall in love with the genre.

Diablo II: Resurrected is a mixed bag of treats. On one hand it has the sweet allure of nostalgia, on the other hand it often feels outdated, with mechanics that evolved quite a lot in the last 21 years. The multiplayer is tremendous fun and will cause a lot of discord over splitting the loot and stealing the gold dropped by the dead players. If you feel nostalgic for Diablo II: Resurrected is the best way to scratch that itch. If you felt that it was overhyped back then, the new release will do nothing to change your mind. And if you are new to videogames, you better start with Diablo III, since you will not miss anything story wise, and the experience will be much more satisfying.

Residual has a good main idea, but I found that there’s too little around it to make the experience compelling in the long run. I liked the world and the exploration, but I was less impressed with the crafting or the puzzle design. I wished for a stronger narrative hook to give me a clear reason to get somewhere or mine minerals or find more vines. Orange Pixel has been engaging with players in the Steam forums and patches quickly arrive to eliminate bugs and add functionality. A healthy community and more content are signs that the game is finding an audience that finds its mix of mechanics attractive. Residual is a great example of what a carefully crafted indie title can offer to fans.

Star Dynasties is a good mix of ideas, setting, and complexity. The character-driven experience delivers unexpected thrills, weird situations, nice stories, and impressive catastrophes. Players need to invest a little of their imagination to get the best out of the game, but the overall experience is worth it.

Tails of Iron is a good game, although it cannot actually fit into one certain genre. It is not very deep or complex, as developers rather focused on implementing well a few elements. Thankfully, the exploration and combat system work like a charm and turn this rat tale into one worth experiencing. Its 2D world is truly engaging, while the challenging combat offers plenty of satisfaction once it is mastered. Tails of Iron might not be an overly ambitious game, but it is entertaining and rewarding.

Aragami 2 tries to add a layer of co-op action on top of its core stealth gameplay. Funny enough the stealth and combat mechanics are anything but co-op friendly. It feels like a half-baked release, with the developers having no clear direction how to continue the first game. It has its moments in co-op, but even those are ruined by the glitches and bugs. After the first few hours it becomes a repetitive grind and there is no real motivation for anyone to finish it. Aragami 2 is a completely unworthy and unmemorable sequel.