Sable surprised us. Its dreamlike, at times auteur-like atmosphere captivated us, and the skillful blend of various game elements ironically trapped us in what is a completely free and customizable experience. Sable rejects all the overly inflated tropes of the more "open" titles of the moment, such as constant markers and indicators, with great mastery. The indie market reaffirms itself once again as a furnace of undisputed gems. Thankfully, more and more creatives are choosing to wear this brave mask. As video game players, we can only be grateful.
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Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are extremely difficult titles to evaluate. We are faced with a production that has evident issues, especially concerning world-building and technical aspects, yet it manages to captivate the player in a mesmerizing vortex, despite all its gameplay limitations, thanks to the immense sense of freedom provided by its open world. Had they been released 20 years ago, our reception would have certainly been much more positive. In 2022, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are "only" a haphazard realization of a dream for a generation of thirty-something kids who deserved more, but who, all things considered, can still feel somewhat satisfied.
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Kukoos: Lost Pets is a very good 3D platformer that, thanks to a clever alternation of game situations and an intelligent and challenging level of difficulty, manages to entertain the gamer from start to finish. Although the price does not constitute an element of evaluation, the price tag of €29.99 (for both the digital and physical editions) is, in relation to the content offering, an additional incentive to purchase Petit Fabrik's title.
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New Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja is an acceptable remake, but with a few small adjustments, it could have become a little must-have for all gamers. A remake that remains in an unfortunate limbo. On one hand, the work done on the original game is commendable, but on the other, more could have been done. There isn’t even an Extra section with concept art or curiosities, for example. Most importantly, if the developers had offered more customization options for the experience, we’d be reviewing what, in a short time, could have become an unmissable cult classic. As it was released, however, we fear many gamers will be left disappointed by the title, and this is a real shame because, at its core, the game is very solid. In summary, "bello e impossibile", as said by an old italian song.
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Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising is a title we must recommend against to everyone. And we say this with great regret because the premise was excellent, and it could have been a much better game than the first one, as technically it could boast an enviable variety of gameplay, thanks to the many types of enemies and different side situations, many of which are truly original. But in its current state, it’s unpresentable, and we can’t pretend otherwise. Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising is not a bad game; it’s much worse—it’s a "broken" game.
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Asterix & Obelix XXXL: The Ram From Hibernia is a title that will succeed in satisfying its target audience, thanks to its playful simplicity and immediacy and the truly very successful audiovisual compartment. At the same time, however, if you are looking for a deeper game look elsewhere, Hibernia is not for you.
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The Entropy Centre is another gem from the indie market, a reality that is becoming increasingly essential for our favorite medium and especially for us gamers. A title developed with great care and passion, enjoyable to play from beginning to end, where even the "problematic" sections, the more action-oriented ones, still make sense within the overall game design.
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God of War Ragnarok is a serious candidate for game of the year. Sony Santa Monica's latest effort elevates what was the already “masterpiece” God of War of 2018 to full power, going out of its way to eliminate all its minor imperfections. And the result achieved is embellished by a mammoth amount of content and an out-of-parameter audio-visual compartment, especially thanks to the excellent art direction, despite the compromises of a totally old-gen-oriented development, which, however, we reiterate, never made us think that the game might have suffered some “cuts” precisely because of that choice. God of War Ragnarok, then, is the ultimate expression of a work that began a few years ago now with the chapter that arrived in our homes in 2018, as well as one of the best games of the year, and not only. Ultimately, God of War Ragnarok is a virtually unassailable title, dare we say almost perfect. It completely lives up to its name, “it's the end of the world.”
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Asterigos: Curse of the Stars is not a flawless title, it has a lot of rigidity on the combat system side, but it still manages to entertain thanks to the variety offered and the level design work truly beyond expectations. The guys at Acme Gamestudio definitely deserve our kudos, bravo!
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F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch is proof that intelligent and passionate development can give the market (and us consumers) real gems. The guys at TiGames have taken the typical structure of the metroidvania genre in its purest essence and added a very deep and technical combat system that manages to make every encounter a pleasure to play. The result is excellent, there's no denying it.
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FIFA 23 is the culmination of a journey that only slightly improves a formula that, while functional, has been stale for too long. Still, it remains a recommended title for all virtual soccer fans, in the hope that next year, thanks to the announced re-branding, there may finally be a bursting revolution just as there was a full 14 years ago with the 2008 edition.
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Soulstice is an excellent exponent of the action genre that comes to the market at the right time. It may be the perfect “entry point” for newcomers to the genre and at the same time, despite the paradox highlighted in the review, a title that will be enjoyed immensely even by those more accustomed to this type of game.
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Pac-Man World Re-PAC not only graphically debunks a title with more than 20 years on its shoulders, but also removes all the archaic features associated with the era of its original release, giving us a much more modern, current, and generally enjoyable product. For these reasons, Pac-Man World Re-PAC is a title that we feel strongly recommend to everyone, both to the 30-somethings who have already played it at the time of its original release, and to newcomers who will thus be able to discover a small cult of the golden age of platformers in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
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Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus? is a title that is too particular to appeal to everyone. We bet that even fans of this genre might frown upon it due to the structural foundations that allow the game to function, based on a "flawed" design that hinders the narrative flow, artificially forcing it. If you're looking to spend a different afternoon, especially considering the low price, you might give it a try, but remember that the design structure on which the entire experience rests could compromise the narrative progression, leading to unpleasant redundancies.
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The Last of Us Part I is a remake of a masterpiece and he himself is no less. Sony's questionable stances regarding the economic and communication choices of this remake are not to be ignored, but net of that there is little to fault the title in terms of quantity and ludic quality.
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Thymesia is a title worth trying. It is not a highly original production, but it will give all gamers a solid experience, thanks mainly to its play system and specifically to its combat system, the real highlight of the work. Too bad only for the paucity of content.
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Stray is a title we highly recommend to all gamers. The review score is, however, a weighted average between the excellent experience we had and the lack of depth in the gameplay mechanics, which we still attribute some weight to because we believe gameplay is the most important part of any video GAME.
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Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series is a collection of two remasters that we highly recommend, for the originality and freshness of the gaming proposal. Paradoxical, we know, given the very concept of a remaster, but just like in fashion where the 'old becomes new,' even Klonoa can boast of having succeeded in this. Or not?
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Playing Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course we were faced with a version elevated to the nth degree of the base game experience with an impressive amount of new features and stratospheric quality, especially considering its nature as additional content. In the current media, very often, not even sequels bring new content of this caliber. Let's not hide the fact, however, that we would have liked a few more levels, we would have liked more in short, nevertheless about ten sublime hours of gameplay gave us that, and that's okay, especially considering that it costs only €7.99. All in all, with Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course the guys at Studio MDHR have for the second time declared their love to our favorite media and especially to us gamers. Thanks for everything guys, we look forward to hearing more about your next project. Should it take so many years again, we will still be here waiting for you.
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Sifu is a gem of the medium. The team at Sloclap has gifted us a game with a level of gameplay and visual refinement that hasn't been seen in years. It's not a game to play with your brain turned off, but it’s meticulously balanced, and with a bit of effort and patience, you could find yourself experiencing one of the most satisfying gaming experiences of recent years. In a gaming world now saturated with massive productions, works like Sifu—smaller in scope but so precise and refined—are now essential, both for the industry and especially for us gamers.
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