Detective Gallo is a graphic adventure that clearly show off its sources of inspiration, such as the LucasArts titles. The studio is small, the production limits quite obvious, but it's still and enjoyable game.

Skully has everything it needs to impose himself as a mix between a frantic platformer like Marble Blast Ultra and an original take on Metroidvania genre, but it wastes too much time before showing its true potential. The lack of enemies and situations to deal with does not help to keep you engaged until the game unleashes all its features, and it is a shame because it’s a pretty game, and also very responsive to player input. Anyone willing to bear with the first few hours will be rewarded with fascinating gameplay.

Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is the depressing follow up to the most disappointing entry in the whole Koei Tecmo hack’n’slash series. The strategic aspect that allegeldy distinguishes it from the predecessor is barely there while the action mechanics are basically the same, with castle sieges being the only real new offer of the whole package. Some clever ideas are noticeable, but most of them are reused from previous iterations. What Omega Force packed in the game at launch is not enough to build an entire experience on repetition.

Double Dragon Revive isn't a complete disappointment, but it doesn't completely captivate either. It's a prime example of a project that works just enough to entertain, especially when the action heats up and the combat system shows its potential, but never really pushes the envelope. Arc System Works has crafted a respectful and reasonably solid beat 'em up, but it lacks a clear vision: a comeback that doesn't know where to look, torn between reverence for the past and a fear of fully modernizing itself. The result is an honest title, even enjoyable for fans of the genre, but inevitably destined to fade away without a trace, especially when compared to far more successful experiments like Neon or Gaiden. Perhaps wait for a price drop before giving it a chance.

Tour de France 2020 adds some new features, like a first-person view and the resistance management, but it is graphically old and too many problems cut off its wings.

The game offers simple hack 'n' slash action and a story mode that follows the manga's plot. However, the gameplay experience often becomes dull due to poorly designed boss battles and design limitations. The Temple of Recollection mode adds an interesting variation but doesn't significantly impact character strength. Despite attractive graphics and the inclusion of the entire story, the game lacks refinement and feels like a disappointing tie-in for a brand like Dragon Quest.

Scathe is definitely not flawless. The bosses aren’t great, optimization could use some work, and the music, while good, lacks variety. But traversing the infernal labyrinth and slaughtering dozens of demons is good fun, the guns feel satisfying to use, and the game definitely knows how to keep you on your toes.

Vertigo's main problem, probably, is its ambition. When you choose such a cumbersome source of inspiration, the risk of ending up crushed by it is real. The Pendulo game wisely chooses not to retrace the path traced by Hitchcock, but to borrow the main theme. Unfortunately, however, it manages to keep the interest high only in the initial stages, then a under-the-bar acting and questionable narrative choices prevail over originality. You could appreciate the attempt, not so much the outcome.

The beauty of an art style in which retro and modern give life to a visually credible dystopian world cannot hide the gameplay lacks under its pixelated guise: despite the short duration, the lack of depth between investigative phases, exploration and combat has time to leave a bitter taste in the mouth.

Outcast Second Contact is a good remake, but not for everyone. Despite some old-school mechanics could prevent someone from enjoying the game (gunplay and matted animations are the two main defendants), Outcast is still imbued with good exploration and an entertaining plot. Give it a chance.

For the time being, No Man's Sky on PC runs slightly better than the console versions, the control system doesn't work very well with the mouse + keyboard combo, and that's about the only differences worthy of being mentioned. All the potential of the game and the disappointment are still there.

The new Need for Speed has some serious problems that need to be addressed: mainly, the over-use of loot boxes (and microtransactions) and a broken progression system that relies too much on randomness and grinding. The story is cringe-worthy, full of bi-dimensional characters and annoying catch-phrases. All that being said, the arcade driving model is accessible and extremely fun as always, and the open world is pretty big and full of activities that can keep the player engaged for a long while. Oh, and you're going to spend plenty of time in the garage pimping your ride.

At first it is exciting to unleash the destructive fury of the Red Demon on the unfortunate enemies in the realms of the Wyrd, the first clashes are brutal and pyrotechnic to the point of predicting great things. The truth is that one punch at a time the enthusiasm wanes until it shows, under the skin of a stylish aesthetic that adheres to the original, a roguelite structure that is not very courageous and a gameplay that fails to convince.

Phoning Home tries very hard to blend the survival genre with a narrative experience. In doing so, it manages to give the player a real reason to keep going on in his adventure but, at the same time, some gameplay dynamics are a little bit flawed. Anyway, there's some real magic in the connection between the two main characters, Ion and Ani, and that's something.

The Descendant is dubbed in English, but the interface and subtitles translation (in Italian) is excellent, and that's a very good start. The gameplay is rather original, different from what you can expect from an adventure game. It won't last too long (10 hours, give or take), but the experience is claustrophobic, cynical, disturbing and often surprising.

Super Cane Magic ZERO is the perfect example of how to best nurture the creativity, style and humor of a cartoonist without making a product destined exclusively to the fans. This new game by Studio Evil manages to be modern and fresh gameplay-wise without sparing tributes and citations to the gaming and pop universe.

A forgettable remastered, with nothing to say in 2017, that should be played to discover the origins of TPS only.

WWE Battlegrounds is an excellent idea lost inside way too much repetitiveness. 2K wrestling games needed a fresh new style and approach, but Saber’s game got lost due to an oversimplified fighting system and an excessive use of microtransactions. You need hours to unlock everything, but your wrestling enthusiasm is doomed to expire after the first 2-3 hours of playing WWE Battlegrounds, just when you’re gonna realize its best moments are already gone. Too bad, because I feel the need of a good old arcade wrestling game, but I also would have liked it to focus on entertaining me and not try to strip me of all my money for a useless Undertaker skin.

Another bad porting of a mediocre collection, that definitely doesn't stand the test of time. It's pretty pricey as well, and the only title worth of your money is probably Dante's Awakening. It could – and should – have been better.

A futuristic wheelchair basketball game that nods to Rocket League. The idea isn't bad and the foundation is there, but currently Drag x Drive is more of an experimental title that needs some tuning and, above all, desperately needs new content in the months immediately following its launch.

Shattered Heaven takes inspiration from Darkest Dungeon and Slay the Spire, and does so without adding any particular innovations to the game formula. There is nothing wrong with this, especially if the end result is good. Besides, it manages to bring a mature narrative, including multifaceted characters and a well-written story. There are some flaws here and there, but all in all Leonardo Production's video game is well made.

Despite the introduction of a well-written new character like Lodi and the presence of the Nine, the gameplay in The Edge of Fate proves to be extremely repetitive, with dull puzzles and fetch quests that slow down the action. The Desert Perpetual raid offers a few interesting ideas, but the campaign feels shallow and lacking in narrative momentum, leaving the impression of filler content.

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.

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.

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.

Conglomerate 451 manages to mix the highest traditions of the dungeon crawler genre with the gameplay mechanics one would expect from any modern video game. There are some flaws here and there, especially concerning the procedural generation of the missions, but they are counterbalanced by the high variety of the enemy types and the deep customization system of the agents.

Tennis World Tour 2 improves upon its disastrous predecessor, but cannot completely make us forget its flaws because it’s based on the same creaky structure. It can be fun, but you shouldn’t expect perfection.

Cyanide & Happiness: Freakpocalypse is a game made for C&H’s fans, rather than point&click lovers, and it’s okay. The game’s mechanics act as a stimulus, prompting the player to talk to all the characters and examine every single part of the setting, enjoying the surreal dialogues and absurd descriptions that dot the game. I don’t know if everybody can appreciate it, but if you like dark humor and you’re not afraid of BDSM teachers, bullies and delusional weirdos, this is a point&click adventure that may fit your lovely taste.