Twin Mirror is a teaser for an exciting adventure that it never delivers. There are some good ideas here, like the interesting Mind Palace world and a helpful imaginary twin, but they needed to be expanded. Ultimately it has a short and bland story, with minimal interaction, limited player choice, and a lack of memorable characters.
Although short on content, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a dependable entry in the franchise with fast action and a variety of solid modes. The great zombies level and the nostalgic campaign are definitely the highlight, and the competitive multiplayer should become strong once it gets more maps and tweaks.
DIRT 5 takes the series back to a more arcade style but the career lacks variety, the vehicle handling is often sluggish, and the basic multiplayer setup is a discouragement. Without a rally mode, the only strong feature is the ability to make and share tracks, but that is not enough to stave off some technical issues.
Amnesia: Rebirth is a step back for Frictional Games. It offers little substance in the way of puzzles, exploration, survival, or psychological horror. Aside from an excellent sequence within a spooky fort, the rest is an uninteresting mess that relies too much on scripted detours.
Torchlight 3 is a passable action RPG with decently crispy combat and satisfactory classes. But the workmanlike boss runs, unexciting gear, dull story, bizarre Fort design, and multiplayer issues all keep it below both its predecessors and competitors.
Serious Sam 4 plays like its predecessors when it comes to the general shooting, featuring open areas and hordes of enemies. But it could have been better if it cleaned up the various technical and presentation issues that ruin the fun.
WRC 9 finds itself in a healthy position with a fantastic driving model and a broad range of awesome rally stages. With pleasing visuals and a decent team management component, there are only a few issues that keep it from overtaking the competition.
Tell Me Why tackles a difficult subject quite well thanks to interesting central characters who interact maturely and drive the story forward. But limited use of telepathy, immaterial player choice, and a generally boring delivery tarnish this morose tale.
Amanita Design has moved away from their usual adventure style to build one awesome puzzle-platformer. Thanks to a near perfect learning curve, painted detours, and a stunning visual and musical package, Creaks is a must for fans of the studio and puzzle aficionados alike.
Maid of Sker is a competent horror adventure where the player explores a well-designed 19th-century hotel. But its clumsy stealth, forgettable puzzles, and lukewarm scares prevent it from hitting the high notes.
Desperados III is a great tactical stealth game with five diverse characters traversing through large open levels with alternate routes that enhance replay value. Picking off patrols and executing multiple actions works marvelously through both the swamps and the frontier towns. And with high quality presentation, this is one entry that fans of the genre shouldn't miss.
There is an interesting story in Someday You'll Return and a potion-crafting system that works suitably well, but players must endure an overlong adventure through a confusing forest with questionable puzzles, bad stealth, and too many clunky mechanics.
Oneiros is a simple puzzle game with concise escape rooms and a few surreal levels. Its third chapter is the strongest, thanks to more traditional adventuring, and is enough to see this indie game break from the pack.
Doom Eternal's core shooting is strong thanks to grand weapons and enemy variety, but it buries the action under irksome resource management and stilted combat arenas. The bland multiplayer and silly platforming only hurt it more, driving this sequel below previous games in the series.
Stunning visuals and brilliant music is just the first course in Ori and the Will of the Wisps. With its large world, lavish combat, and a smooth implementation of the metroidvania design, this sequel is a must-play for fans of the original, and highly recommended for everybody else.
Uncovering the past has its ups and downs in The Suicide of Rachel Foster. While not a horror game, it only needed a slight nudge to become one and it would have been better for it. At least its roomy hotel setting is nice to explore, even if the world needed more detail and excitement.
LUNA The Shadow Dust is a streamlined point & click adventure that offers superb art design and peaceful music. While many of its puzzles are simple, some late-game challenges make fantastic use of the two well-animated characters in a brief tale told adequately without words.
Lightmatter rests somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to first person puzzlers. It uses the basic light tools satisfactorily, and the sharp visual style and brisk pace help it succeed. Unfortunately some technical blemishes offset its better qualities.
Although Life is Strange 2 offers varied themes and visually exquisite moments, it falters by featuring an unappealing road trip adventure with disconnected episodes that lack character growth. Lethargic pacing and shallow interaction make for a boring sequel about two brothers that should have stayed home.
With an excellent droid companion and entertaining lightsaber combat, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order could have been a truly forceful addition to the franchise. However, navigation problems and unnatural level design takes it back down a darker path.