Borderlands 2 represents an evolution of the first game. If you love this series, get ready for refined gameplay, improved graphics, and twice the playtime—including twice as many DLCs. The nonstop shooting is amplified in the excellent co-op multiplayer mode, which is probably how the game is meant to be played. Fans of the series got exactly what they wanted: a crazy and brutal comic-book world full of dark humor. If the simple plot doesn’t grab you, there’s still the thrill of slicing up robots that announce their damage—and that’s damn good, if somewhat lowbrow, fun. Plus, the sound design is perfect.
Review in Czech | Read full review
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire offers a genuinely long, linear shooter set in the past—in both the real world and a cartoon universe. Although the game features mice, it’s not hard to imagine them as humans. The brutal action isn’t for kids, and adults will certainly appreciate its parodic tone. The game doesn’t take itself seriously and pokes fun at the ubiquitous clichés. Exactly as it should be. The original and fresh take on an otherwise serious theme turns it into an entertaining game that doesn’t try to trip players up. I’m completely satisfied. A great debut from the Polish developers at Fumi Games.
Review in Czech | Read full review
For fans of the original movie, Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! will be one of the best games ever based on the film. For younger players, this might feel like the Stone Age of cinema, but that doesn’t change the fact that the game delivers solid, adrenaline-fueled action and a great shooting experience. The bugs outnumber you, and each soldier has only a short lifespan. Plenty of Easter eggs and the return of Casper Van Dien are the icing on the cake. The limited content and short playtime are a bit of a letdown, but this is offset by a fair price and the fact that the game doesn’t fall into a rut. Plus, the bonus missions against the bugs are absolutely awesome.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Demonschool is a surprisingly rich game for anyone who enjoys isometric RPGs with turn-based combat and a retro pixel art style. It features plenty of dialogue and battles, and it certainly doesn’t rush you through anything. Look forward to an above-average playtime, and you’ll also encounter some horror elements. If you want to take a break from the main storyline while playing, there are plenty of side activities, as well as sometimes absurd dark humor. Last but not least, the game is peppered with all sorts of pop culture references that connoisseurs are sure to appreciate. If you’re looking for something like Persona or Into the Breach and you love pixel art, you’ve come to the right place.
Review in Czech | Read full review
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl may not be for everyone, just like the previous installments. Even on medium difficulty, it tends to punish players for every mistake, and breaking into the Chernobyl Zone isn’t something you can do on your first try. It requires patience, but once you get into the game, there’s no looking back. It will reward you with breathtaking immersion and a truly intense atmosphere. The world here is vast and hostile. It doesn’t hold your hand, but it’s full of hidden corners worth exploring. A year after its release, the game is perfectly optimized, fine-tuned, and still being developed. Definitely a thumbs-up, and just in case, you can always lower the difficulty. Plus, it includes a Czech localization.
Review in Czech | Read full review
I remember how, back in the day, in some unnamed discussions, hardcore RPG fans debated whether Diablo could be considered a representative of their beloved genre. With Borderlands, I found myself pondering a similar question. Is it more of an FPS or an RPG? It borrows character development and equipment mechanics from the RPG genre, but the other elements have been stripped down to the bare bones. Take, for example, the absence of any dialogue. From an FPS, on the other hand, I’d expect more dynamism and a drive to push forward. Constant gear swapping, quick respawns, and minimal plot aren’t exactly what I expect from a modern FPS. In both respects, the game is halfway there. Fortunately, Borderlands is a fun game, and the plot twist at the end genuinely amused me.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Metal Eden is a fast-paced boomer shooter FPS that takes the best from its inspirations. The weapons and abilities are perfectly balanced. Parkour is fluid and fun. The distant post-apocalyptic future settings are appropriately gloomy and beautiful. While the gameplay isn’t original, it’s incredibly immersive. The great atmosphere is enhanced by excellent sound design, awesome music, and a simple yet high-quality story. A minor flaw is its shorter length, though I wasn’t bored even once. The sense of accomplishment is great, and if you’re still hungry for more, try New Game+ with a significantly increased difficulty. I played on Normal, and with a gamepad, it was just right.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a very difficult and perfectly balanced 2D pixel-art platformer. If you love action platformers and high difficulty is what you’re looking for, Ragebound is a great choice. If you’re mainly looking for a relaxing gaming experience, though, you’re better off staying away. You’ll spend plenty of time practicing and dying over and over again against every boss. It’s not for the impatient. It often wears me out, and I have to take breaks lasting several days. Ragebound is an intense game that offers a great sense of satisfaction when you defeat any boss.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Immortals of Aveum is an FPS built on modern genre mechanics, popularized primarily by Doom: Eternal. It features fast-paced and sometimes challenging action in virtual arenas, set against a fairy-tale fantasy backdrop full of magic. If this kind of setting appeals to you, give it a try. At launch, the game had technical issues, most of which have since been fixed, and it currently looks quite presentable. The storytelling is in the style of a typical, naive, epic-scale blockbuster. It’s verbose, long-winded, and features dreadful, grandiose music.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Undying is a game for a niche audience—people who aren’t afraid to devote a hundred hours to it and keep getting better. If you’re into the realistic consequences of the apocalypse, give it a try. The stylized graphics hide a dark and unsettling theme. The game is brutally difficult, and some mechanics—such as stealth—work only to a limited extent. You’ll constantly be pressed for time and short on everything. If you think your own life is easy, go for it.
Review in Czech | Read full review
The humor in High on Life isn’t for everyone. Some may find it overly crude for its own sake, but a biting, well-crafted satire—even if it’s politically incorrect—will always work. The game is quite violent, which stands in sharp contrast to its childlike graphics. If you like a modern action style spiced up with adventure elements, Metroidvania-style revisiting of locations, and humor similar to *Rick and Morty* (I really need to check that out sometime), go for it. The game doesn’t place much emphasis on the story itself, but rather on the scripts of individual mini-scenes and all sorts of gags.
Review in Czech | Read full review
A humorous adventure that really gets under your skin. It’s sure to delight fans of adventure games and wacky dialogue-driven comedies. A game that highlights the contrast between the real world and a Viking-Biblical fantasy afterlife. Do you like 2D cartoon-style platformer graphics and have a good command of English? Go for it. The Holy Gosh Darn features excellent voice acting, the humor pulls no punches, and you can always rewind time without any stress. If you don’t speak any of the following languages—Chinese, English, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, or Turkish—move on to something else. Or wait for a possible fan translation of the PC version.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Days Gone features a well-crafted open world, a great atmosphere, a fantastic story, and a long playtime. For new players, the remaster is the best way to immerse themselves in this captivating and gloomy world. For players who have already completed the game, the remaster is probably unnecessary. Slightly improved graphics, one additional game mode, a few new difficulty settings, and several cosmetic changes don’t improve the game enough to warrant buying it again. If you still own the old version, you’ll have to decide for yourself whether the update—which costs about two hundred—is worth it. I’m a fresh-eyed new player, and I’m rating the game accordingly. I definitely don’t agree with our review of the original Days Gone.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Anyone expecting a solid, well-playable retro indie platformer with nice pixel art graphics should keep in mind that what they’ll actually get is more of a VGA-era platformer—one whose gameplay mechanics feel like they’re from the first half of the ’90s and don’t offer much beyond that. Beyond the Ice Palace II is truly retro through and through. For fans of the old Castlevania—which it most closely resembles—it may seem like an interesting title. In that case, add one point to the rating. For new players, it will be more of a chore.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Turbo Overkill is a game for anyone who loves facing near-death situations in games and isn’t afraid to dive right in headfirst. It only takes a few hits to die, so you need to keep moving constantly as you battle hundreds of enemies. Get into the retro spirit, reminisce about gaming experiences from the turn of the millennium, and enjoy the solid action that Turbo Overkill has to offer. The intricate design, long playtime, and cyberpunk setting will remind you of the days of Deus Ex, The Matrix, or Ghost in the Shell. While Turbo Overkill isn’t primarily designed for consoles, if you can handle controlling Johnny Turbo with a gamepad, you can handle any other game.
Review in Czech | Read full review
If you’re looking for adventurous fairy-tale stories for adults, enjoy simple two-button button-mashing, like the Japanese style, and don’t mind old-school graphics, then Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana is for you. Unfortunately, it includes that sad crutch of experience grinding, but otherwise it’s a fun mix of action and RPG with Metroidvania elements. I spent twenty hours playing the game, beating up monsters—about two of those hours were spent on dialogue and five on grinding. It was wonderful, but I don’t feel like playing through it again.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Terminator: Resistance - Annihilation Line offers a few new missions, a couple of new movie-inspired weapons, and several new machines to destroy (the T-600 or HK Centurion) for just a few crowns. The locations have been scaled down, and even greater emphasis is placed on the story, which is executed as well as it possibly can be. Kyle Reese is a badass, and his dreams come to life, combined with period music, are simply the best. Objectively speaking, it’s just a short DLC. If the Terminator universe leaves you cold and you take into account that it’s just a DLC, deduct two points from the rating.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number relies heavily on the story, which doesn’t really suit me. I’m bothered by how the significance of the masks has been pushed to the background and by the style of the missions, which are designed to tell a story. The long dialogues ruin the dynamic, and the new gameplay features don’t help much. On the contrary, some things, like the enemies’ stupid AI, haven’t been improved at all. On the other hand, if you get into the game and develop a taste for it, get ready for some hardcore carnage that won’t give you anything for free and will keep you hooked for a long time. The core gameplay remains the same. But if I had to choose, I’d rather play the first game.
Review in Czech | Read full review
If you like roguelikes, tactical turn-based combat, and RPGs, you should definitely give this a try. Just don’t let it completely consume you—unless you have another life to spare. Darkest Dungeon II requires a lot of time and patience. It rewards you with beautiful graphics, a captivating dark medieval atmosphere, and the depth of its gameplay mechanics. Some aspects could be a bit more player-friendly, such as the drawn-out beginning and the constant clicking on the same things at the start, but that’s something you can live with. Death isn’t the end here. It’s part of progressing through the game.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Until Dawn is a must-play for all fans of B-movie slasher horror who don’t mind high production values. The game is brimming with constant tension and fear that won’t let you stop playing until you uncover the mystery of the morning. I was more than happy to overlook some technical shortcomings that could still use some polishing. The urge to play it again is strong, and that’s exactly how it should be. But definitely not in broad daylight—you won’t see a thing then. If you’re not familiar with the original version and you love horror games, Until Dawn is the clear choice.
Review in Czech | Read full review