Though it undoubtedly belongs to the retro games strand, Casper Croes' relationship to nostalgia in the game is different from the more widespread one. In the case of Alisa, the past is understood not as an unattainable era of now, but as a model whose limitations can now be a challenge rather than an obstacle. The challenge is to recreate a game today that not only draws inspiration from Resident Evil, but also shares its technical characteristics, yet turns out to be palatable to modern gamers. The challenge can undoubtedly be said to have been met, thanks in part to the use of a good dose of (self)irony reminiscent of Lynch's.

Chains of Freedom is a turn-based strategy with action elements and simplified tactical management that sits somewhere between XCOM and Jagged Alliance, while renouncing elements such as targeted headshots, stance and reaction fire. Alien crystals to equip offer variety, customization and a touch of build strategy. Missions are linear but packed with optional areas, and the post-apocalyptic aesthetic feels polished, believable and well-directed. Suitable for those seeking accessible combat with near-infinite resurrection options, less for purists who demand depth and control of every action point.

Spirit of the North 2 takes the contemplative experience of the first chapter, expanding it into a larger open world, full of biomes and secrets. Combat, quests and inventory are excellently replaced by exploration, environmental puzzles and an extraordinary artistic direction. The main novelty is the introduction of the crow, able to give wings to the fox, just like a famous drink. Unique flaws: an automatic jump system that is sometimes unpredictable and a camera that is not always precise. A poetic title, visually splendid, but with some oversights in the gameplay.

Atelier Yumia is a bold step forward for the series, embracing a more expansive open-world structure and a modernized combat system. The alchemy mechanics remain engaging, but the streamlined progression and reduced party interactions may not sit well with longtime fans. Visually, Gust has delivered its most polished Atelier yet, though the art direction leans towards the familiar. While the lower difficulty might divide opinions, the open-world exploration—clearly inspired by gacha-style games—adds a fresh dynamic without impacting core gameplay. If you seek a more action-oriented Atelier with a fresh narrative approach, this entry is worth a look.

Bounty Train is an incredibly complex title, with almost endless possibilities for the player, but at the same time it's accessible and fun, albeit a little bit repetitive.

Street Fighter 6: Year 1-2 Fighters Edition arrives on Switch 2 with a surprisingly solid porting, keeping the 60fps fluidity intact and making the experience extremely enjoyable on the go. With all the characters from the first two seasons already included, and a truly convincing pad in hand experience, it proves to be a worthwhile purchase for those who want to train or have fun anywhere, albeit with a few technical stumbles in the World Tour and unsuccessful secondary features.

Digimon Story Time Stranger is finally a great Digimon-themed JRPG. While it looks a generation older, it makes up for it with a really well-crafted battle and evolution system and a huge catalog of Digimon.

Fort Solis is a satisfying and simple narrative video game, with few real innovations but many themes and points of reasoning that thriller lovers might like. It's not a horror movie, so don't expect scares of any kind. It is not even approachable to works like Dead Space and The Callisto Protocol.

Gotham Knights is a strange beast: it's the classic example of a result greater than the sum of its parts. Taken individually, the elements that make up the latest effort by WB Games Montréal are full of many small critical issues, yet a video game is the product of the meeting and fusion of these individual parts. Yes, that's right, there are a lot of problems, almost all related to open world management and bland RPG components, but overall the game works and is capable of delivering one of the best Batman and companions stories outside the world of comics.

Ghost Song is a love letter to metroidvania genre with a huge map, so big that even the portion that can be immediately visited could almost represent a complete game. The game features an excellent graphic design, albeit with improvable animations, and an interesting story to follow despite starting with a little delay. The soulslike component makes things as hard as expected, and while it might annoy players who don't like repeating the same section again and again, it's part of the game. Definitely recommended for those who love exploration, too bad for the limited support for keyboard / mouse combo.

Chornobyl Liquidators offers a poignant and intimate story, presenting a real playful structure. It entertains and engages for the entire five hours it takes to get to the end credits, also reinforced by brilliant writing and memorable dialogues capable of transporting you to another brutal reality. It could move those who, impressed by the television series, have left their hearts in the story of the most tragic nuclear power plant in the world.

Football Drama is an intriguing hybrid of genres, which prefers narration with the main character that holds hope and passion for all of us.

An entertaining retro shooter featuring appealing aesthetics and refined, varied gameplay that is just the right amount of challenging. Those who grew up playing old classics such as Wild Guns, Contra, and Cabal will feel right at home, but they will have to work hard to reach the end credits.

Narratively speaking, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin would be a badly written JRPG, but luckily Square Enix and Koei Tecmo’s latest game is more than anything a very engaging action game that is very faithful to its source. Not perfect by any means but still enjoyable, the Nioh “soulslike” formula applied to the epic of Final Fantasy gives flesh to an interesting action game with a surprisingly deep learning curve and accessibility options that welcome any kind of player to the party.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is a re-release that really does the bare minimum to justify the arrival of such an important title on high-resolution screens. Atlus has decided not to invest further time to improve and modernize the experience, forcing us to recommend the game only to those who do not own it in its original incarnation.

Dune: Spice Wars is an excellent Dune-licensed RTS. The approach to the game mechanics is fresh and functional, net of some various imbalances.

Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree combines souls-like combat and Metroidvania structure in a layered, dark gothic world that's compelling, both artistically and in its setting. There are some technical issues, but it's a 2.5D adventure worth experiencing.

Planet Zoo has turned out to be a complete, satisfying product, capable of entertaining a wide audience, thanks to its intuitive interface, accompanied by intriguing graphics and a complete localization in Italian.

Stasis: Bone Totem is a point-and-click graphic adventure that exploits the classic mechanics of the genre in a modern and appealing technical setting, although the game was made almost entirely by only two people. Its strength lies in its horror-tinged sci-fi atmospheres and in its narrative which presents interesting reflections on ethics and corporations. The writing style is verbose: this might be a limitation for some, but it is an indispensable ingredient in the creation of a world that winks at cosmic horror.

It's not the most difficult platformer ever made, but Unravel manages to deliver a truly sweet, gentle and tender experience. It's a delicate, red ball of yarn that will twine around your heart.

GreedFall is a charming RPG with a beautiful setting and an engaging plot. It’s a bit rough on the edges, but it represents the pinnacle of Spiders’ productions so far, even if there’s still room for improvement.

Necesse is fun little survival with light management mechanics: by starting a settlement we can invite NPCs to join it and delegate to them trivial tasks like cutting trees or gathering produce, while we dig through underground caves and fight huge bosses.

Despite defects such as translation, progression in the endgame or an improved UI, Ace & Adventures is a convinced yes thanks mainly to the breath of fresh air it brings to the world of digital CCGs with its original, fun and stimulating gameplay.

The ports of Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light Redux on Switch are really surprising from a technical point of view. The gloomy and overwhelming feeling of the scenarios conflicts with the portability of the Nintendo console, but this should be considered as an invitation to play after dark...

Although few titles in the collection can honestly still entertain today - in the meantime we have become accustomed to much more - rediscovering Jeff Minter's "woolly" games was a fun and very, very intriguing journey. Added to the nostalgia is the possibility of knowing completely unpublished details of the development, and this collection, very well done in terms of quantity and quality of the material proposed, has an indisputable historical value. A journey that is willingly retraced by reading, listening and playing. Especially playing.

Cunningly exploiting its own limitations among which the technical ones stand out, Goat Simulator 3 is perfect for single player or even better in co-op fooling around, has a lot of crazy customizations and proves that the devs have truly given their best - or the worst, it depends on the point of view - of themselves.

The Sims 4 Star Wars: A Trip to Batuu proves to be a great Game Pack for The Sims 4, a fun themed holiday that offers fans of the franchise a pleasant break in the company of Jedi, Sith and first-rate smugglers. Do or do not. There is no try!

Infinite Warfare is a nice and solid game, but it is far more daring in the single player campaign rather than in the multiplayer modes. A classic CoD, in a sci-fi setting.