Marco Mottura's Reviews
This is not the average campaign add-on you might legitimately expect: Octo Expansion offers a far more demanding (and not always 100% fair) experience. A series of 80 levels that will definitely engage hardcore veterans, but that at the same time might turn off players not too fond of game over screens.
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Colorful, intuitive, deep and incredibly fun, Mario Tennis Aces is truly something for everyone, from casual newcomers to seasoned hardcore gamers. You'll certainly love its unique arcade soul and its rewarding gameplay (especially in multiplayer), yet you'll also regret its disappointing single player components.
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For 29.99€ you'll bring yourself home more than fifty titles that changed the gaming history in the early 90s: SEGA Mega Drive Classics is definitely a reasonable package, one that's pretty well built considering the variety of the selection and the online support. Not everything has aged properly, but it's still well worth it (especially at this price and during this seemingly never-ending wave of nostalgia).
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Donut County is a quirky puzzle-action inspired by Katamari Damacy: behind its weird look and its zany concept the game hides a valuable lesson rooted in anti-consumerism and ecologism. Too bad that – not without a cruel paradox – a game about a hole in the ground that swallows everything inherently lacks so much depth.
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Subsurface Circular is a fascinating and unique project, one that will probably leave you something despite the short length. An incredibly well-written narrative adventure, built with passion, heart and elegance: if it.
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Celeste is not only a brilliant platformer, one that will surely entertain you with its unusual difficulty and its astonishing level design. Celeste is a touching story about depression, a metaphor of life and ultimately a video game that will teach you a valuable lesson: never give in, no matter if you're dealing with a Gargantuan montain, a series of seemingly impossible jumps or anxiety. It might not be the next indie apocalypse, but it's still a product that's well worth of your time and money.
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Shooty Fruity is a funny arcade shooter with a distinctive personality, one that will hook you with its immediate gameplay, its frantic shooting action and its quirky multi-tasking. You might encounter some technical limitations (due to the Move Controllers rather than the software itself), some questionable game design choices and a certain lack of contents, but it's hard not to smile when you have to use one hand to keep a group of wild rasperries at bay with a machine gun, while scanning products at a cash desk with the other.
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In a way, The Next Penelope is a truly impressive task, one that could be well worth of the labors of Hercules: it's the dream of a single and very talented designer turned into a peculiar mix of driving, adventure and shooter (with a kick-ass art direction). However, in another way this one-man project could also be considered as a missed opportunity: the single ingredients were probably better than the sum of their parts, and the final recipe feels a bit too short and half-baked.
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Crawl and Nintendo Switch can be considered a match made in Heaven (or in Hell, considering the setting): absolutely enjoyable when played in two and potentially a blast with three or four players, this weird and highly original mix of genres is a perfect fit for those in search of a thrilling competition. Be warned: with the right group of people, Crawl could quickly turn into a little cult.
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As a simple collectathon built around the concept of flying around in a magnificent cloudy world, Oure does more than its job and ends up being a pleasant zen experience. However, whenever it tries to be something more – wheter it is by trying to push on the gameplay side or by evoking pure emotions – this very derivative game simply falls short, showing all the limits of a not so stellar production.
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While certainly inspired by the cult-classics of the 90s, Wulverblade lacks their natural class and their inherent appeal: it's still a game that will entertain you, but one that eventually won't leave you with much more.
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From Canada comes the brightest new indie superstar: a magnificent run and gun shooter, a mausoleum of pure gameplay, an ode to boundless creativity. Visually, Studio MDHR's debut title is not only one of the most impressive games ever created, but it's also a true instant classic, one that could look the masters of the genre straight in the eye. It's spelled Cuphead, it reads masterpiece.
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Metroid: Samus Returns is more than a brilliant remake of a relatively obscure cult-classic: it's a very significant moment for the whole saga, one that actually marks the rebirth of a beloved heroine after a troubled time.
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A quirky crossover that seamlessly blends two universes apparently far away, a compelling strategic game that despite its simplicity has a lot of depth to it (and one that could be a perfect introduction to the genre) and above all a production that truly captures that special, peculiar Nintendo feel: well played Crying Ubisoft Man, well played.
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The performance capture truly adds a special touch to the already intense cutscenes, the audio department is stunning and visually it's kind of a treat: too bad that the gameplay elements in Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice are just so shallow, bland and uninteresting, dragging down an otherwise deeply fascinating project.
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Patapon Remastered is actually the furthest thing from the well-deserved celebration of a glorious little cult: due to an insane amount of input lag, the game in its current state is simply not only an unplayable broken mess, but also a true offense to the immediate and unique gameplay that made the original so incredibile.
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Rather than a full blown sequel, Splatoon 2 frankly feels more like an (impressive) extention of the original episode, especially if you've been splatting around since 2015. Players of the Wii U chapter will truly feel at home, with a sense of familiarity that will certainly replace the stunning surprise effect that made the franchise so unique, while the newcomers will have the pleasure to experience one of the best and most original shooters ever created (one the perfectly embodies the so called "Nintendo Difference"). That said, with more courage and better online options this sequel would have been even more impressive.
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If you're looking for an honest - yet brutal - challenge and you're not afraid of getting lost in a quirky and abstract dimension, dive in and join the water drop Ikk in his procedural adventure: monsters, sweat, lots of swear words and many satisfactions will be waiting for you in this fierce platformer/shooter hybrid with a roguelike structure (one that actually works really well with the Nintendo Switch philosophy).
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Behind its wacky (and absolutely adorable) cartoony appearance, with its peculiar colorful appeal, its delightful cast of characters and its rubbery animations that somehow remind you of Splatoon, ARMS has the heart - and the brain - of a pure-bread fighting game. Deep, engaging, fascinating, fast and far from trivial, this beat'em up shows however one huge merit above its many undeniable virtues: it's a new, completely unique take on the genre, one that will be enjoyable for both fans and newcomers. Another hit for the Big N, scored with a surprising boomerang-punch.
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A touching adventure that will be remembered for its stellar emotional value rather than for its (fairly good) gameplay: prepare some tissues because you're definitely gonna need them, as you'll experience one of the most memorable epilogues ever.
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