LEGO Bricktales could have been a good Flash game, or having a multiplayer mode would have greatly served its cause. In an era filled to the brim with construction games on our modern machine, it unfortunately feels way too limited to be sincerely recommended to amateurs. Only LEGO enthusiasts will find it interesting… or not.

Even though White Day: A Labyrinth Named School might not be the scariest in the world as rumours had it, or the fact that blood is very rarely shown on screen, Sonori proves that horror can exist without the overkill of gore that is very much in fashion at the moment by proposing a creepy and oppressive atmosphere capable of surprising us in the worst moments, to the point of systematically making us turn on the lights and feel anxious during each search. The puzzles make us think under pressure and one feels torn between the need to escape as quickly as possible from this nightmarish high school and the aspiration to solve every mystery. Once the game is over, we ultimately only have one yearning: diving into this maze while impatiently waiting for the next episode.

Is Persona 5 Royal the best J-RPG ever produced? Is it Atlus' ultimate masterpiece, a once-in-a-lifetime creation? Everyone has their piece to say, but for us, it certainly is and the studio's following games can hardly compete with a title that is and will be remembered for many years to come as the quintessence of the Japanese role-playing game

Falling Out is a pleasant surprise that should, of course, be played in pairs for a maximum amount of fun, laughter, and probably a lot of name calling too. As a good retro title, it is hard to truly master it, but it will replace the ""by heart"" method with one’s skilful adaptability to the system and to the ever-changing environments. Our career as tomb raiders finds here a very entertaining alternative, full of good ideas and deadly traps too. We thank PolyCrunch Games for this first title which is full of passion and we hope it will find its audience.

On the outer layer, Kamikaze Veggies tries to be a fun and ironic popcorn game; nevertheless, we have the clear feeling that all this is only a pretence allowing the creative teams to make a sharp criticism of the title’s geopolitical topic under the cover of a vast “joke”, sadly without any wit. If Red Limb Studio’s precious initially makes us want to read between the lines, we quickly shut off our brains when grasping the lack of finesse and the ease with which one can get the best scores. Even if it sometimes makes us smile, most of the puzzles are bland and tedious. Despite this, the ability to play the entire experience in split screen is quite thrilling considering how rare it is nowadays. Ultimately, the most satisfying bit is the continuous unlocking of an achievement at the end of each level. Despite not being the worst experience ever, it nonetheless falls under the umbrella of “quickly done, and quickly forgotten” games we unfortunately all know too well.

Without being 2022’s GOTY, Gas Station Simulator truly deserves a spot in your game library. We are quickly introduced to the joys of business management, and this is done quite smoothly thanks to contextual displays and a correct handling. Even if the game is punctuated by display glitches, Drago Entertainment manages to immerse us in a rather new concept. Ultimately, we expected a little more content in terms of services offered to customers. A good game to play in off-peak periods.

The studio’s desire to propose a short but well-crafted game is a risky bet that can fully satisfy casual players. The latter will undoubtedly find a challenge to their liking, without necessarily seeking completion. On the other hand, those who are used to this type of production and who have probably worn out their pads feeding armies of zombies with Hawaiian pizzas will only make mincemeat of this Fueled Up. The title is nevertheless very fun and introduces several original, but unfortunately played down mechanics. A pleasant way to pass the time for social gatherings with friends.

The Witch's House MV offers an atmospheric setting that still grips us to this day. Despite the frustrating side of the die and retry formula and some repetitive aspects, we remain trapped in the story and we desire to know the conclusion. Some cutscenes can be shocking and make you feel uncomfortable, so you have to be sure to embark on such an adventure before you regret it. But is it worth doing it again if you played the original version? Not really, because apart from the graphic aspect, the whole thing is identical. Nevertheless, it is still an excellent experience for a short evening shiver, or to extend the twisted magic of Halloween a little bit longer.

Beholgar could have been a good game, if it had been released in 1987. But its proposals are too weak and rooted in the bad sides of Metroïdvania to really convince. Heir of a genre that came back in force these last years, it doesn't compare with almost all the other titles of the genre. Even worse, by trying to position itself on the "retro-castlevania" segment, it suffers from an inevitable comparison with Infernax, released at the beginning of the year and a true paragon of the genre, managing to sublimate the old formula while adding incredible qualities. In fact, it is difficult to recommend this Beholgar, even to the nostalgic and to the lovers of the 8-bit era.

At first sight, Paper Cut Mansion is a gruesome and twisted experience due to the choices made in terms of graphics and sounds as well as its twilight atmosphere with a lot of jump scares. Yet, it turns out that the title proves to be particularly addictive. In addition to the collection of various clues and objects helping our investigation going forward, they also gradually reveal the story of our anti-hero. By offering us a videogame made of many parts similarly to Frankenstein’s monster, Space Lizard Studio gives life to this hybrid theory of a rogue-lite puzzle-narrative game resolutely horrific: that is quite a mix of genres.

Star Ocean The Divine Force doesn't live up to its subtitle as well as we would have hoped. Caught up with a good soundtrack, a sufficiently inspired artistic direction and a gameplay that is still enjoyable at times, this Star Ocean nevertheless struggles to stand out. Worse, the title of tri-Ace seems to be several years behind its competitors. Its realization suspended from the years 2005 to 2010, its singular chara-design and its pleasant but struggling to take off scenario, immediately push this opus into the limbo of the average games. We are aware that we are in the presence of a double A title, but that doesn't allow us to forgive everything either. We still enjoyed this adventure, even though it doesn't reach the stars.

Broken Pieces is and will undoubtedly remain relatively confidential. By proposing an intriguing and visually convincing experience but a bit too short, Elseware Experience gives the impression to have developed an alternative universe maybe too rich to be satisfied with a single installment. Many questions remain unanswered once the credits roll and leave us with a feeling of being incomplete. By continuing the chronology of Elise's story, a few months later, two world-famous FBI agents could have said about the Saint-Exil case that ""the truth is out there".

RWBY: Arrowfell is not a bad title, far from it. Visually speaking, we can feel all the work efforts done by Wayforward Technologies. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to us, it all can be summed up in two words: too scarce. The metroidvania codes are reduced to their simplest form and the challenge is almost non-existent. By being stripped of all the richness inherent to this style of production, RWBY: Arrowfell is more of a scripted action game than an epic adventure in endless winding corridors with multiple ramifications and very well-kept secrets.

Despite some imperfections, Legend of Keepers is a very good game honouring France and the talent of our developers. Nevertheless, considering how bland the additional content is, this Complete Edition should only be destined to a well-aware crowd of amateurs or fans having discovered the game on another platform.

Even though the base idea is theoretically interesting, Save Room fails to convince. Its total lack of storyline makes us do the same type of puzzle from over and over, without really knowing why. It can still be fun to play during a short evening, or if you want to hone your sorting skills before the release of Resident Evil 4 Remake.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is what we could call a textbook case. Trying to sell us a remake without ever clearly saying it, Square Enix's title is more like a remaster in disguise, with the imperfections of a title that has already been around for fifteen years and was initially released on a portable console. Even though it is very pleasant to play, especially thanks to the complete overhaul of its combat system, it is still an anecdotal title compared to the behemoths usually made by the studio.

Offering a horrific game with puzzles is nothing new, but combining a puzzle game and a survival horror: that is a more difficult challenge. The Illusion Ray studio succeeds in presenting a balanced game. Even if the title feels a bit outdated, its immersive atmosphere and well-designed narrative make us forget its little flaws. We cannot wait for its sequel, which is already in production.

With their first title, the developers of Nomada Studio are striking just the right chord. The art direction, which benefits from the talent of Conrad Roset, is sublime. It is a real treat to travel through Gris’s world and accompany her in her personal battle. Even though the gameplay of this metroidvania does not reinvent the genre, the quality of its realisation and its soundtrack make it a real video game gold nugget that you must discover.

In short, Sword of the Vagrant’s qualities and blemishes are elbowing on the same line. By largely taking its inspiration from the Vanillaware games, it offers us a polished visual prowess that has everything to divide the public, probably on the same points. Its gameplay has good elements to rally the aficionados of old-school action-RPGs, but only them. The others will probably prefer other more recent and flashier titles. With its replayability tailored for “completionists”, its attractive price may tip the scales in its favour. A little pleasure, one not so guilty, after all.

Make no mistake: this is not a cross between Mom, I missed the Plane and Doom. This is a game that uses well-established industry codes, sometimes taking things from Resident Evil, sometimes from Doom, but without ever thinking about or adapting its gameplay, all of this sprinkled with numerous nods to pop culture films. Sold as a serious, horrific and complex game, Krampus Kills is actually the opposite. Indeed, we have the feeling that DangerousBob Studio LLC is knowingly trying to hide the truth. This particularly annoyed us, but we must admit that, after the initial disappointment, we enjoyed going through the levels of this game which should show their true colours. Let’s hope that the developers understand this and come up with a future goofy production that is transparent and assertive, which will be all the better for it.

Jitsu Squad is a concentrate of the best the arcade had to offer in the 90s, obviously updated from a technical point of view. However, do not be fooled by its adorable design, the comical expressions of its characters, its many appreciable nods, and the sometimes discreet staging of an easter egg. The squad is not there to joke around but to slice and dice its way through its enemies. And with more than one player, it is always better.

It is rare to test a game that manages the feat of failing on all aspects. While offering us a borderline playable experience due to its many glitches it ALSO conveys a morally questionable message despite its good initial intentions. It turns out that Animal Shelter Simulator manages to do this non-sense with absurd brilliancy and a rare kind of talent. Everything within it is messed up in a sort of consistent way that borders on perfection.

Legendary Heroes is not a good game, or at least not on console. The handling is clearly not adapted to the controller, in addition to having a kind of latency, and being glitchy during attacks. Moreover, the progression is similar to the mobile version and you will have to wait tens or even hundreds of hours to improve your characters. There is nothing left to save except for the short games, offering several ways to win thanks to the weather or the destruction of the opponent’s base. Any MOBA fan will naturally head to the mobile version of the title which is far superior, or simply to SMITE on console which is an excellent free alternative.

This modern version of Persona 3 Portable has some solid arguments in its favour, a well-conceived storyline and a very appreciable, if slightly imperfect, translation. If you don't mind the few graphical problems and the old-fashioned look, you'll be embarking on one of the best J-RPGs to this day.

Even though one might regret that this version of Persona 4 Golden is solely a port of the 2020 PC version to which a few features and a French translation have been added, no one can take away all the qualities and the depth of writing. Persona 4 Golden was, is, and will remain one of the best J-RPGs ever created: to be discovered without any moderation.

Wave Break’s originality or gameplay are not its strongest points. On the other hand, it's really all the extras that make it so pleasant, lively and vibrant. Each session is a pleasure (especially with headphones on) and knows how to transport us in its 80's vibe. The local co-op is its greatest proposal, to the point of never leaving our list of must-have games for couch-coop sessions with friends.

Wavetale is a very pleasant modern fable to play, but its technical aspects could be improved. Even if the starting point is gloomy, this cartoon version of “Waterworld” focuses on family, ecology and mutual aid themes for a short but particularly “feel good” video game experience. Given its almost non-existent difficulty, it is perfectly suited to the youngest players as an introduction to 3D platform games, offering a resolutely accessible experience filled to the brim with positive vibes.

Tower Princess is not a demanding roguelite but it offers a quick progression to players who want to discover this kind of experience without pulling their hair out. Whilst the discovery of the different princesses imagined by AweKteaM is fun and hits the spot every time, we nonetheless regret the lack of content for the price asked, as well as the lack of replayability once reached a high level, thus making the whole thing far too simple despite a difficult setting. However, we are impressed by the quality and seriousness of the title developed by a three-person studio. You can feel the desire to offer an entertaining and well-crafted experience without taking advantage of the players. Congrats to this small team. If you are looking for a “casual” game to relax for a few short sessions: go for it.