Maid of Sker comes with all the features of a good survival-horror game, such as a well-designed eerie location, a great atmosphere, an engaging story, fearsome enemies, well-implemented 3D audio and the right amount of scares, but it does not try to break from the mold of the Resident Evil formula in any significant way. The lack of any real innovation may put off some, but if expectations are kept in check, Maid of Sker can provide a few hours of enjoyable horror fun.
With production values that are through the roof and an extremely engaging story, Death Stranding is among Hideo Kojima's best games. The moment-to-moment gameplay, however, falls short due to its repetitiveness, and the long stretches without any real action make it difficult to recommend the game to all open-world fans. Death Stranding is something different, and only approaching it with an open mind will reveal the brilliance of its themes, its characters and its hauntingly beautiful dystopian world.
With its excellent world-building and intriguing story, P.A.M.E.L.A could have been a great survival game, but it sadly fails to reach the must-have status due to a variety of issues. The game can still be an enjoyable experience, but how much really depends on the player's tolerance for mediocre combat, bad enemy AI and the many technical issues.
Despite some interesting mechanics that make the game feel like a true adaptation of a tabletop RPG, The Dark Eye: Book of Heroes is a cRPG that needed a lot more time in the oven. With some technical issues to boot, it is really impossible to recommend the game in its current state to any type of RPG enthusiast, as there are classic and modern games that offer much better experiences.
Roguelikes aren't for everyone, but The Persistence manages to show that a few tweaks to the usual experience can make wonders for accessibility. With a great atmosphere, intriguing setting, and great mechanics that allow for a variety of play styles, The Persistence is a more than worthy game for both roguelike diehards and those looking to finally get into the genre.
Deep Rock Galactic features everything a first-person shooter needs to be great: excellent mission variety and character design, an engaging gameplay loop, smooth co-op and huge amount of content.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is a masterful modernization of the series' classic formula. The game is an extremely solid JRPG that looks, sounds and plays great, despite some pacing issues and linearity. That said, the unexpected story twists may sour the experience a bit for those who expected a faithful remake.
Bleeding Edge is an interesting combination of features taken from Overwatch, MOBAs and character action games, featuring a solid character roster, a good map selection and two plays modes that feel varied enough. The limited amount of content and the lack of a ranked mode, however, make it difficult to recommend the game as a stand-alone purchase as of now. As an Xbox Game Pass game, however, Bleeding Edge works much better, as players can wait for new content to drop without having to spend money just to get the game.
Sadly, the general lack of polish and low amount of content damage the experience in the end, making Warlander a game that can be recommended only to the most die-hard fans of the Souls series
The Surge 2: The Kraken offers a new area to explore, new enemies to fight, new items to find and new side-quests to complete. Sadly, the new content is not particularly meaningful, and the short length makes the DLC a worthy purchase only for those who love the main campaign.