Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars is one of the most shallow strategy games I have played in years, both narratively and mechanically: few units, weak AI and uninteresting maps do not make for an enjoyable package. A pity, considering the premise is interesting and tactical combat isn’t too bad. But it’s not enough.

Elderand is a successful metroidvania take which adds nothing to the genre, but enhances what we are used to see in these games. The only drawback is a lack of action in the first minutes, but then the game starts to get interesting.

Yo-kai Watch 2 improves everything done in the past, but at the same time overlooks some elements that fans wanted to be fixed. There are some new game modes, online multiplayer, new Yo-kais and a bunch of different activities, but overall the game still remains too easy for seasoned players.

A Gone Home wannabe, with some good ideas but too short and penalized by a tangled gameplay.

The game offers nothing more than some good animal visuals. What remains is a management game without any challenge and spoiled by an awful UI.

As a collection, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy is pretty pointless. If you're a fan of Kishimoto's manga and for some reasons you didn't play Ultimate Ninja Storm 3: Full Burst when it was originally released, you can buy just this one game. In addition, the switch conversion is pretty sloppy.

Even with a mainstream approach, reached through a huge roster and shiny scenarios, Snooker 19 is designed to really satisfy only a small niche of fans of the discipline.

Ancestors The Humankind Odyssey is tough to master but fascinating to play, thanks to the freedom of its atypical open world. Every discovery becomes an exciting moment, although not always easily interpretable; in addition, the later release of the console version allowed the developers to improve it in all its features.

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!

Wrath of the Druids is in fact a "more of the same" expansion, but it can count on a much more compact map than the one of AC Valhalla. This has benefited the storytelling and the pace of the game, although the new mechanics introduced in this DLC are rather marginal.

Labyrinth Legend is a very simple ARPG in which you explore a bunch of automatically-generated dungeons, collect equipment, and battle in real time against thousands of enemies. Nothing more, nothing less.

Togges makes no secret of his sources of inspiration: Super Mario Galaxy above all, but also Katamari Damacy and Pikmin. While Togges does not have all the qualities of its benchmarks (particularly in controls and cleanliness in design), it knows its strength points and focuses on those: smooth, colourful graphics on which rests a relaxing, carefree gameplay. All in all, Togges is an average-value game that nevertheless took on a huge challenge, confronting himself with the masterpieces of the genre, without being destroyed by the comparison. But ambition and bravery should be appreciated, and rewarded too.

Decarnation is an incredible and well written video game, supported by an intelligent and always engaging and impactful storytelling. Furthermore, the play structure fascinates and surprises. Must have absolutely.

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.

Nintendo cares about our health and to prove it brings us a new chapter of the Fitness Boxing series, urging us to get off the couch and follow the workout routines of inflexible virtual trainers. The playful streak of titles like Ring Fit Adventure and Boxing Fist of the North Star disappears in favour of more serious training based on the fundamentals of boxing. Worth considering if you're looking for an excuse to burn off those Christmas calories.

Scorn is the classic case of a brilliant idea, diligently implemented which then lacks much of the content to be savored and enjoyed. The settings are excellent and cause great anguish, and the adventure around the exploration of these carnal and biomechanical tunnels is fantastic, but the shooting phases are faulty, the puzzles are repetitive and in some cases fillers, for a project with little longevity. Having put the nearly eight years of development on the table, it was reasonable to expect something more.

Road to Olympics is a sincere, passionate and compelling love letter to the Olympic spirt. It’s not a proper game about Pyeongchang Winter Games but rather a Steep-style take on them, with a fresh and intense game campaign, an amazing new mountain to explore and a lot of challenges to take. If you loved Steep, you’ll love this expansion even more.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands can really be an exhilarating game, thanks to the huge possibilities given to the player and the beauty of the Bolivian scenery (and the great fun when played in coop with other three friends). Unfortunately, a bunch of not insignificant flaws turn it into a missed opportunity, something that could've been bigger and better.

Code Vein II could be described as a more accessible Elden Ring, and that wouldn't be entirely wrong. But it would be a shame to stop at the obvious similarities and simplifications, because the game behind it is undoubtedly a great game. It's a little didactic in some choices, a little fan service in others, but it's also capable of frequently resonating with the player on the other side of the screen.

If even the original game wasn't able to take that extra step and stand out among its competition, you shouldn’t expect that its remastered version will be able to accomplish this task. Nevertheless, Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning remains enjoyable despite its age. It is a "vintage" game, capable of entertaining for hours (and hours and hours and hours) with its classic fantasy story full of fantastic creatures, epic legends and fairy lands.

Mosaic is a remarkable narrative game, suggestive in its small length, telling of a silent revolution in an oppressive dystopian society.

Mother Russia Bleeds is a great homage to the beat'em ups that ruled the arcades in the Eighties. Excessive, vulgar, ultraviolent, it offers a fun yet deep gameplay, improved by an inspired art direction and a good soundtrack. An excessive difficulty towards the end and some technical flaws prevent the game from becoming a masterpiece, but if you love the genre, you can't miss it.

Sniper Elite: Resistance is a solid "more of the same" of the fifth chapter, or a "Hitman with a sniper rifle" for the ones not used to the series. And it feels good.

Highwater is an effective and essential video game, well written and with a confident plot and a context capable of hitting the mark. It is a prequel that manages to fit uniquely into the experiences of the past, with the team having embraced a turn-based combat system that is excellently implemented but not so deep. It is a dynamic adventure that bases its total focus on narrative.

More solid, more varied and sillier than ever, GORN 2 is the sequel that anyone who loved the first chapter must play. It doesn't invent anything new, it simply perfects and enriches every ingredient of the recipe that made its predecessor a cult. And that's fine.

The new episodic adventure from Telltale offers some welcome (some might say necessary) changes to the gameplay, and a revamped graphics engine (unfortunately not a new one). At its core, the “Telltale formula” still works well, and the choices we make during the game create a real and meaningful connection with the characters. The story is the best part, though, and it could really be a game changer for the Caped Crusader.

Despite the absence of the co-op and the free mode, Warriors All-Stars succeeds in bringing fans of the genre a lot of action, imbued with a lot of well known characters from the Koei Tecmo roster.

Mario Golf: Super Rush transforms the most relaxing sport into a frantic race across the courses of the Mushroom Kingdom! Many modes, many ways to play golf, between battles and classic matches, adventures and boss fights, all relying on a great control system.