The PC version of Sherlock Holmes Chapter One avoids the frame drops and other glitches that some PS5 owners experienced with the console release, and gives us a fairly good detective game, with several culprits to find in a beautifully crafted turistic island. Fans of Sherlock Holmes might discover a quite different hero from the one they are accustomed to, but the overall experience of Chapter One is absolutely pleasant.

Shin Megami Tensei V manages to improve on a supposedly perfect combat system by introducing new options that offer a welcome extra level of complexity. The storyline is a little less convoluted than usual, and the graphics engine struggles at times, but the end result is a truly impossible-to-drop RPG and one of the most successful exponents of the genre on Switch.

Farming Simulator 22 re-proposes the formula that made the Giants Software series famous, with all its strengths and weaknesses. The new features (new crops, cross-platform multiplayer, new build mode, seasonal cycles) are interesting, but the frequent graphical glitches should be addressed.

Gunfire Reborn has great gunplay, huge variety in builds, and a formula as simple as it is immediate: you get in, you shoot, you hope to get to the end. It might not sound like much, but it’s more than enough to make Duoyi’s game incredibly compelling and almost addictive.

Tempestfall is better as an adventure into the grim world of Age of Sigmar than a dual-wielding weapon, spell-casting combat game as a Stormcast Eternal. Confused? Me too.

From a certain point of view, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond is a remake that doesn't like to take too many risks, improving on the original experience without making any major changes. Yet this is also its greatest strength, especially for those who never played the original chapters on DS. The result is an authentic recreation of a historical title, polished and cleaned up from outdated game design elements.

Battlefield 2042 is a brave new chapter in the history of the series, full of interesting elements and very well done in many respects. Between the evolution of total warfare, the addition of Hazard Zone and the innovative Portal editor, DICE has done things big, and big is the passion that lies behind this new, monumental shooter.

Football Manager 2022 is the kind of game that doesn’t really need to change. Even if there’s no revolution mechanics wise, many aspects show a finer attention to detail, and there are some new factors to consider. A more complete and more fun game, that every fan of the franchise is sure to enjoy.

I didn't start out with the best of expectations, but The Smufs Mission Villeaf turned out to be a nice little game! For a few hours it brought me back to the age when I hastily dined to leave my parents to their sad newsreel, and went to watch the Smurfs on the TV in my room. The graphic rendering of the characters is commendable (certainly more rounded than that of the two recent films) and the soundtrack a small masterpiece.

Blue Reflection: Second Light is a fine role-playing game, with a pleasing art direction that makes up for its cross-gen nature and modest budget. The storyline takes a while to get going and the multi-faceted combat system tends to drag common encounters for too long, but overall the game will surely appeal to those who don't mind the unusual setting.

What a ride! Riders Republic gives you an amount of freedom that you can hardly find anywhere else, and lets you choose your own path within a happy community that’s keen to celebrate your successes.

Call of Duty: Vanguard clears the bar thanks to its convincing multiplayer, rich in content and with some new features such as the Battle Rhythm and wider environmental destruction, which reinforce an already solid gameplay. There is no innovation or revolution for the franchise, and those who have played the most recent games in the series already know what awaits them, but perhaps the secret of its commercial success will be precisely this.

It’s November and Just Dance is with us again. And it’s great news, because it’s as much fun as usual. Just don’t expect any innovations.

Forza Horizon 5 turns "more of the same" into a mark of true excellence, furtherly polishing and improving on a winning formula and making it exponentially more spectacular on a technical level and more enveloping on an environmental level, and mixing it all with its distinctive driving model, a unique mix of a simulative superstructure with an arcade heart beating beneath the hood.

Mario Party Superstars is a great episode, so respectful of the past that it's not afraid to pay homage to it by improving the basic formula, while adding a much-needed feature like online play.

An official version of Super Robot Wars on our PCs is a long-cherished dream, but it's not an experience for everyone. Certainly not for those expecting a deep and challenging strategy game, as almost the entire experience plays on fanservice. Not to mention a roster incapable of giving back the encyclopaedic feeling that an event like the 30th anniversary would require.

NHL 22’s gameplay is substantially unchanged from its predecessors. The Frostbite engine brings a breath of fresh air to the graphics, but the gaming experience does not differ dramatically from what has been seen in the past. The result is a fun and full of game modes title, which however would need an update in the game mechanics to be able to take it one step further.

RPGs have been an ever-evolving genre for years, and while most developers strive to introduce some new details to innovate, Dungeon Encounters follows the path of hardcore minimalism. The result is a game that looks outdated and with rusty game mechanichs, sold at a price that is everything but minimal. It offers a couple of interesting details but also wild grinding, very repetitive gameplay, and poor graphics. We should expect more than that from Square Enix.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is still an intriguing survival horror experience with creepy atmosphere and engaging story, but younger audiences may not like its old-style controls and slow pace.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy gets back to the classic single-player formula, steering away from the hybrid attempt of Marvel’s Avengers and piecing together gameplay elements from Tomb Raider, Mass Effect and even Knights of the Old Republic to make a quite unique choral adventure. The player is asked to act like the team leader, taking decision and managing the resulting contrasts between the other members. The strength of differences is the big theme of the game, and Guardians of the galaxy is great in telling it both through narration and gameplay.

Despite some relatively minor issues, especially in the graphical compartment, Age of Empires IV is an excellent new chapter in the history of one of the most beloved RTS sagas. Relic Entertainment and World's Edge kept true to the roots of the series while at the same time not forgetting to innovate the formula in interesting and creative ways.

A small-scope but excellent game with very clear ideas, enjoyable, sincere and particularly exciting when the going gets tough, like during very intense boss fights. Pimping our ride to make it look even more aggressive and suited to the post apocalyptic world feels great. A Mad Max-like shoot 'em up is exactly what we needed.

Killsquad is a game that evolved significantly since it first arrived onto Early Access two years ago, and the result is a solid twin-stick shooter with looter elements. When it comes to loot drops, the balance is unfortunately a bit off, but overall the game is a fun mix of genres.

Good writing but the rest is sub-par. In particular, the tiny size of combat arenas makes any attempt of strategizing utterly irrelevant.

House of Ashes marks a change of pace from previous episodes of the Dark Pictures Anthology, offering a horror story that also focuses heavily on action. The plot, which incorporates elements of films such as Aliens, Predator and The Descent, does not shine for originality, but is overall enjoyable and sufficiently articulated. There is still some occasional uncertainty in the interactions between characters, but overall the dialogues are good and the narrative crossroads are numerous and lead to endings that have significant differences between them. The new gameplay features do not change the gaming experience, but improve it slightly, while graphics/sound remains on good standards.

The Riftbreaker will throw you on an alien planet both lush and unforgiving, in what could be the perfect mix between a survival RTS and an action/shooter game.

The Caligula Effect 2 is the kind of experience that works on paper, with a good basic idea and potentially intriguing protagonists. The game, however, is a hymn to banality and boredom without any redeeming traits. Fans (?) of the first game, with which it shares a weak narrative link, might find this game interesting. Everyone else should stay away.

Back 4 Blood isn't perfect and doesn't revolutionize zombie-themed co-op FPS, but it effectively demonstrates that, thirteen years later, the right ideas can revitalize superb but dusty gameplay.

Inscryption turned out to be a small surprise, an indie title that breaks the rules of card games offering players something more elaborate and exciting, by adding in a mixture of roguelite, puzzle and horror. A pity that the game has no voiceover: it would have made its particular setting feel even more alive.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl tries to be a challenger for Super Smash Bros. and aims for the weak spot of his opponent, showing off a stable and solid netcode. A good multiplayer and tight controls, though, are not enough to reach the stars. The roster is good and varied, but a little scarce right now (maybe DLCs will fill the gap) and characters lack characterization (no pun intended): a pity, because Nickelodeon’s original voices and music would have added a lot of value to the game.

Alan Wake remastered is a good upgrade, both for old fans and new. The new textures and the modernized lighting system make the game a lot prettier to look at. A pity the cutscenes are 30 fps locked and their animations a bit sluggish, though.

The Crysis Remastered Trilogy gives new life to three outstanding shooters of the recent past.

When I look at Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles I keep seeing the usual formula that Cyberconnect2 has been using for years of anime tie-in fighters. It’s still an enjoyable and fun fighting game, if you care enough to get into its more obscure mechanics, but it could have been much better with more emphasis on a proper training mode and a more fleshed out campaign. Nonetheless, it’s also one of the prettiest game ever developed by the software house that created .Hack and a proper celebration of the bombastic action sequences of the original animated series produced by world-known animation studio Ufotable.

Lone Echo II proves once again how Read at Dawn is a top-of-the-class developer when it comes to VR.

Metroid Dread convincingly shows that Samus Aran is, after so many years, still at the (or very near to) the top of the genre it helped define. MercurySteam's creation is exhilarating, well balanced and beautiful to look at; even the somewhat atypical E.M.M.I. sections are competently integrated with the rest of the game.

A Juggler’s Tale tries to find its space in the wide spectrum of similar games by impressing the audience with a truly suggestive and inspired aesthetic, a gorgeous front cover for a solid game. In just a couple of hours, it tries to establish a dialogue with the player, pushing it to reflect on serious themes such as freedom and free will, at the same time being aware of the paradoxes embodied by its mechanics. A good debut for kaleidoscube.

Even if the controls sometimes just make you wanna scream, Bonfire Peaks is a nice and small puzzle game worth playing. Its compact diorama levels are brilliantly engineered, using small spaces to test the player’s cleverness. Voxel graphics, more that just being nostalgic, help the game in recreating the right atmosphere of old adventure games like the original Tomb Raider.

Far Cry 6 is a very expansive first person shooter with a compelling story, full of entertaining things to do and missions to accomplish. The enemies are a little too predictable but the gameplay is always fun, with tons of weapons to find and customize, and the incredible “pets” you can bring with you are just the cherry on top. Graphics and sound are high quality and very immersive.

JETT: The Far Shore has so much potential wasted due to its abysmal gameplay, the same gameplay that hinders the overall experience and undermines what good has been done on the artistic and narrative sides of the game.

I am pissed at ATOM RPG Trudograd, as it is made with love and competence in every feature, but it neglects and trivializes the fighting too much, which instead should be a big part of Fallout's legacy. The result is still a great game with excellent writing and dozens of side quests, but when a shootout feels like a bothersome interruption, something is amiss.

Actraiser Renaissance is a skilfully made remake, but it does suffer from a couple of major technical and stylistic uncertainties. If you love Actraiser I recommend giving it a chance: the strategic portion has been significantly expanded and even those who know the original by heart will find new elements to play with.

Banana Mania delivers the best levels, mini-games and modes from the 20-years old Super Monkey Ball series... and it's more fun than ever.

Although far from being revolutionary, Kena Bridge of Sprits is a compelling action-adventure game with an heart-warming hero and really cute creatures to play with. Ember Lab put in this game all their experience in character design and animation, giving us a splendid – but also somewhat repetitive – cartoon movie to play with.

The Castlevania Advance Collection is a fine piece of game preservation, collecting three good games and a half-assed dud thrown in for good measure. Joking aside, the games haven't aged as well as the NDS trilogy, but put together they make a must-have package for fans of the Belmont family.

In Sound Mind is a well-done psychological horror, fun and stimulating from start to finish. It’s less scary than expected and could be improved from a technical standpoint, but the mix of gameplay elements knows how to stimulate the player by offering them a new element to use in each level.

Sable is a fascinating coming of age videogame with an incredible art direction inspired by the works of the late Jean Giraud.

Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The First Cases is a solid adventure game. Poor mouse and keyboard support detracts from the overall experience, but the product as a whole is a worthy rendition of Agatha Christie’s books.

Although driving is super fun, the design of the career mode feels boring and samey after the first hour. Hopefully the multiplayer will be able to lend the game some more longevity.

While being a good clone of the original MGS, UnMetal does something few other MGS-like games did in the past: it not only emulates the stealth mechanics, but it replicates Kojima’s metareferential design, and it does so in a way that feels both fresh and funny. UnMetal plays with 80’s stereotypes and the player’s mind at the same time.

With its pros and its cons deliberately left mostly as sharp as they were, confirming itself as one of a kind not only for the nostalgia effect on which the Vicarious Visions have focused, Diablo 2: Resurrected has thrown the Blizzard masterpiece twenty-one years forward with a crazy care. It was not and is not a game for everyone, but what a pleasure to deal with the Devil again.

FIFA 22 kicks-off of the football season with a renewed edition, with the much-awaited Hypermotion Technology playing the leading role. The (numerous) new animations shine above all, while the gameplay has a slightly lower pace, with skills playing a lesser role. An interesting choice, that works quite well despite some issues (goalkeepers) that we hope will be fixed as soon as possible. As always, there is a rich choice of game modes, with a range of options able to satisfy both those looking for a quick & simple experience and those looking for a challenge that can last for months... or even until the release of FIFA 23.

CyberConnect2 knows how to develop and port games, no question about that. It may not run at 60fps, but this pocket-sized version of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is still able to live up to its counterparts on other platforms. A pity that the last DLC was not included, considering it would have made the game even more appealing.

On the PS5 Death Stranding is as beautiful as ever and this Director's Cut gives players a bunch of new and (quite) interesting content, but not enough to make it feel really new and fresh.

Sheltered 2 follows the dynamics of video games on the managerial survival genre, improving on its predecessor but still not being without flaws. The new look is maybe a little rough, but not without its charms.

Ni no Kuni II is a good game, rather on the easy side but blessed with a unique charm. This Switch version comes across as the least performant of the bunch, but the inclusion of DLC and portability are good reasons to consider it if you really don't have any other platforms to play on.

Rustler has some obvious technical and structural limitations but it is the first to laugh at them because it knows you should never take yourself too seriously. That's what it does and that's how it goes for the player too, who cannot avoid to be captivated by the absurd medieval setting, by the old style gameplay and by mountains of elegant vulgarity.

Gamedec was a nice surprise: a cyberpunk detective story with a progression system that rewards intuition and perseverance without holding the player's hand. The dense network of questions and answers, together with the different endings available, guarantees robust replayability.

Tormented Souls tries to capture the magic of the good, old Resident Evil titles. The game delivers a genuine scary atmosphere and decent storytelling, sometimes overwhelmed by poor graphics and some technical issues.

Lost Judgment is a high quality sequel. It’s fun to play, despite the few gameplay changes compared to its predecessor, and has a very engaging and well-acted story. There is never a moment of boredom when playing in the role of Takayuka Yagami, moving between Kamarucho and Yokohama in search of the truth, with a thousand doubts in mind, a thousand enemies to defeat and a thousand extra activities to try.

Encased is an old school RPG with lots of content and an exciting story. However, it is perhaps a little bit too faithful to the classics.

WarioWare: Get it Together is a clever game: true to itself but incredibly fresh thanks to a simple yet ingenious intuition that revolutionises the axioms of the series without distorting it. It won't last long for lone players aiming solely for the end credits, but those with friends to challenge or collaborate with will find it a great party game.

Deathloop is an unusual but fascinating game to be experienced in one breath as a superb noir thriller in which, however, we are the killer. The AI is out of place compared to the rest of the game and it's not a perfect game, but it's not afraid to dare, it has style in spades, shows the creative team’s burning passion in every corner and when finally get that perfect loop, the satisfaction is immeasurable.

The Artful Escape is a hard to define game. Light platform and rhythm’n’game elements are diluted inside a narrative driven gameplay that tasks the player with life and artistic choices. While the gameplay is bent to the main thematic of the game, visual and music take the mind of the player through an epic, psychedelic journey in a rock, sci-fi, over the top space opera.

Lost in Random would have been an interesting game even with a normal combat system, but developers were brave enough to dare and innovate, definitively not an easy task in late 2021. Maybe the effort spent on combining dice and cards has caused other features to be overlooked, and the game is sometimes a bit slow and with little interaction, but this does not impair the experience of playing an artistically very well done game, with a great story and the right amount of humor like I haven't seen in a long time.

Life is Strange: True Colors catches up with the original Life is Strange on a narrative level and, unsurprisingly, improves the experience with superior graphics quality, remarkable voice acting, and a beautiful soundtrack. Once stepped out of the bus, it will be easy to totally identify with Alex and be carried away not only by her search for truth but also, more simply, by the everyday life and warmth that only a place like Haven Springs can offer.

Dice Legacy is a competent strategy/survival game with some neat and well-implemented ideas; the random element is there, but generally easy to handle, and good planning trumps sheer luck. However, it isn’t particularly rich in content, and it might get grindy if you’re aiming for the hardest difficulties.

Tales of Arise is a great game and a significant step forward from its predecessor, a wonderful mix of bright narrative and excellent gameplay.

Golf Club: Wasteland is a masterpiece in the art of telling a big story in a tiny game. Ruins of our Earth, devastated by climate change, speak to the player through the music and the chats of the great Radio Nostalgia and the ironic neon signs of Alphaville. In the meanwhile, the silent Charlie from Mars plays an intense and challenging arcade golf game, where you can never tell what happens next. It’s rare to find so much greatness in a small indie game.

The Medium on PS5 is pretty much as good as it was on Xbox Series X, despite some graphic flaws and loading issues. Luckily, the DualSense features manage to fill the gap.

The franchise doesn’t make the hoped-for leap in quality, it just takes a step in the right direction: this will hardly be enough to satisfy the most demanding drivers or those who already own WRC 9, but several off-road enthusiasts may still consider it more than enough to have fun.

Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions is like a 90’s game: good for short sessions of play, with only few modes, a cheating AI and a lot of pressing the same button over and over. Despite all that, it manages to be entertaining for a few hours, but you’ll soon get bored of fighting the same boxer but with a different skin. The strange, over the top narrative Arcade is enjoyable, but with just one more mode (Versus), there’s no way to get to the twelve round without getting tired of its basic mechanics.

A complex, amazing Zelda-style action adventure set in a beautifully crafted world with plenty of towns, creatures, buildings, shops and NPCs. There’s a lot to discover and a lot to play, although some mechanics might feel dated to younger players. The game suffers from some still-to-be-fixed bugs which can be annoying. Overall, NAPS Team did a great job, and brought us a game that Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli could have done themselves.

In a crowded roguelike landscape, Dreamscaper tries to stand out by adding a narrative, advendure-like mini section, which is so well-crafted and interesting that it almost overshadows the action segments. The game offers good graphics and a cool soundtrack, but also repetitive puzzles and unconvincing enemy design. Luckily, the combat system is excellent, which makes a great pick for any action roguelike fan.

Madden 22 is not a huge step forward in a series that needs to shift gears to return to its former glory. There is no shortage of interesting ideas, too bad that there are quite a few gameplay issues and that some game modes (Face to the Franchise, for example) are way too boring and uninteresting.

Lake is a truly beautiful narrative adventure. The sound design is excellent and the story progresses in a delicate way, with feeling. An oasis of relaxation in a chaotic world that is always in a hurry.

Sonic Colours: Ultimate improves on the fine game released many years ago on Wii, but after all this time it was fair to expect something more, especially for the hedgehog's 30th birthday.

No More Heroes 3 is a glorious sequence of boss fights, spectacular, fun and crazy, but surrounded by a really bland open world. If you're a fan of Travis it remains a recommended game, especially considering the previous games adopted a very similar structure, but everyone else would do well to wait for a price drop.

Twelve Minutes takes advantage of a time loop to tell us an intricate story, managing to motivate player's creativity in trying to prevent seemingly unavoidable situations. Featuring a breathtaking voiceover, it lacks in credibility when it tries to amaze and horrify at any cost, while successfully managing to blow the audience away. It will give you a fulfilling afternoon, and if you love point and click adventures you shouldn't miss it. You can easily see the first two or three endings, but unlocking them all needs quite an effort.

A remarkable sequel to one of the best Metroidvania ever made. Despite some minor flaws, Axiom Verge 2 represents a new building block in the fascinating and growing universe crafted by Thomas Happ. Can't wait for the next chapter.

Incredible attention to detail, an impressive physics model and a focus on the bike maintenance make RIMS Racing a strong first entry for a new IP; however, the erratic AI and self-harming design choices reduce the overall enjoyment of the game. Also, day one DLCs are never a good look.

The very existence of Psychonauts 2 demonstrates that good ideas have to overcome a thousand difficulties before being realized, but in the end they somehow impose themselves. It took years for the first chapter to overcome people’s skepticism but, day after day, it has built up a fan base so large that we were finally able to play with a full-fledged, high budget sequel. And it's beautiful. Pleasant, original, colorful, compelling. Do you need more adjectives to be convinced?

King’s Bounty II is a decent turn-based RPG, but it’s also one of the most derivative games out there.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a valid cooperative shooter, one where you can just drop in and shoot stuff with glee, or put your coordination and teamplay to the test if you’re looking for a challenge. There are friendly AIs, but they aren’t great and solo play only works at the lower difficulties. Finally, while the game is competent and fun, it also shows its low budget.

A year later, Ghost of Tsushima is still a great game, and this Director's Cut is the definitive version, especially if you own a PlayStation 5. It's a great experience, but it's mainly for newcomers: the improvements are welcome, but hardly enough to tempt veterans of the original.

Sadly, Humankind isn’t Amplitude Studios’ magnum opus. Its interesting concept of civilization mix-matching is constantly let down by an uncompetitive AI and all sorts of balancing issues.

Road 96 is a nice revelation. The slow start gives the wrong impression of a game similar to many recent narrative adventures: well written, but without that peculiar something that can make it shine. Instead, its formula based on the repetition of the paths and on the procedurality of the encounters proved to be a great strength in the long run, capable of adding depth to the game and distinguishing it from its (valid) predecessors. More than this, it's the perfect game for summertime: a good song on the radio, the long road ahead of us, sunglasses on and a future where plenty of choices await.

One of the most intriguing action-platform games of the year. Greak: Memories of Azur is artistically gorgeous and its gameplay is simple but engaging.

Foreclosed manages to condense in a single game a decent shooter, a basic role-playing game and, why not, even a bit of science fiction thriller, which doesn't hurt. The problem, however, is who exactly this game is meant for: it is too light as an FPS, too basic as an RPG, and the puzzles aren’t deep enough for an adventure. It needs someone who wants to simply live a cyberpunk experience, as long as your expectations aren’t set too high.

The underlying gameplay is still so brilliant that it is painful to see it brought it down by obtuse and ancient systems that make the overall experience frustrating.

Hades on PlayStation 5 is the essential masterpiece we all know, embellished by the 4K resolution and a mild use of the DualSense features. A real must-have.

Solid, no-nonsense roguelike with a comparatively rare sci-fi setting. Too bad it doesn’t deliver the badass power fantasy that its inspiring material source (Doom) does so well.

Boomerang X is a frantic and challenging arena shooter made to satisfy the needs of those interested in speedrunning the game or unlocking every single one of its achievements.

Orcs Must Die! 3 does not innovate significantly – some might even call it lazy – but is an effective recollection of everything that made Robot Entertainment’s franchise so great in the past, turned up to eleven.

The Silver Case and The 25th Ward are both testament to the talent of one of the most picturesque, brilliant and punk directors of the videogame scene, capable of amalgamating, no one knows how, a series of themes, influences, styles and characters that in the hands of others would have turned into a disaster.

At a first glance you might think Vesper is something like Limbo with robots, but it's actually a great puzzle platformer with a bit of stealth. Thanks to the generous amount of checkpoints, it can be played as a casual game, a couple of screen at a time, or trying to beat the best time in a speed run, thanks to the embedded stopwatch allowing you to record and publish your game sessions without further editing. Great graphics and sound, with a gentle difficulty curve balanced by achievements not that easy to unlock. A debut with a bang for the guys from Cordens Interactive, who were able to mix a compelling story with a great gameplay.

The Ascent is a fast-paced twin-stick shooter immersed in an impeccably designed cyberpunk world, yet its plot fails to fully take advantage of this wonderful setting. Luckily, the shooting mechanics are quite satisfying, while the many different character customization options guarantee a fair range of approaches to the shootouts. There are also a bunch of technical issues that can be easily circumvented, but are still annoying.

Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a role-playing game focused on storytelling and combat, cutting out usually fundamental elements like exploration: an atypical but successful recipe, drawing strength from a cast of young heroes that are impossible not to love.

Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector is a solid turn-based tactical game, but also quite generic. That's because the developers did almost nothing to differentiate their game from other titles in the same genre. Recommended if you're a WH40K enthusiast, but demanding turn-based tactics fans might want to look somewhere else.