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Gianluca Arena


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308 games reviewed
76.6 average score
79 median score
60.6% of games recommended
Dec 4, 2024

Fantasian Neo Dimension is a perfectly fine old-school JRPG, fit for both veterans and newcomers of the genre. It's just that we expected a little more from Sakaguchi-san, whose masterpieces we grew up with on both Nintendo and Sony machines.

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Unscored - Stray
Nov 28, 2024

Instead, it is difficult to think that it can attract those who have already spent about ten hours on other shores, but there is also some reserve for those who only own Switch: Stray is nice, it is relaxing, but it lasts very little and offers very basic game mechanics.

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Nov 20, 2024

Nor a sudden war neither fifteen years in development stopped the people at GSC Game World to show their potential once again: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl delivers on almost all fronts, giving us a cruel and immersive world in which we can all get lost. We already know we won't have to wait too long for multiplayer and mod support, but let's also hope we won't have to wait another fifteen years for another game like this.

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Nov 19, 2024

We wholeheartedly recommend S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Legends of the Zone Trilogy for both its gameplay mix of action, stealth and roleplaying and for the very convenient price of the package, which will cost you less than a new release on Nintendo Switch. The quality of the port is great too, so we don't see a single reason not to give these games a go.

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Nov 13, 2024

This HD-2D Remake does justice to the grandaddy of the JRPG genre, a seminal game that is equally simple and charming in execution. New content, shiny new graphics and all that worked in the original title are included in this remake, and so it comes recommended for both old-time fans and newcomers.

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Nov 12, 2024

Metal Slug Tactics is a very fast and very nostalgic take on the turn-based tactics subgenre, with the roguelike element to turn the tables when the going gets repetitive. It's a love letter to one of the most beloved SNK franchises, but as a tactical game is just above average.

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Nov 11, 2024

Let's not beat around the bush: we didn't like the new direction Electronic Arts and Bioware have given to the Dragon Age franchise. The original idea must have been to expand the public for this third entry, but the result is a game that won't probably appeal to anyone, expecially long-time fans. Just give us a Dragon Age Origins remaster at this point, please.

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Nothing was done in this Hella Remastered to help Shadows of the Damned in the aspects in which the game underperformed at launch, thirteen years ago. Hence, the game has today the same qualities and the same problems of yesterday, but the latter weigh down the experience much more than before.

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Unscored - Yakuza Kiwami
Oct 28, 2024

It probably has some rhythm problems, due to the large number of cutscenes, and is affected by a structure that is undoubtedly a child of its times, but Yakuza Kiwami really never tires us. This Switch port has been made with quite different guidelines than the vast majority of its peers: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has chosen not to come to terms with the technical limitations of the new host console, maintaining resolution, animations and audio quality at the same levels seen elsewhere, at the price of rather unstable performance and fairly frequent stutter phenomena.

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Xeen and Square Enix, in stark contrast with what the original development team did 31 years ago, played it very safe, with a remake that changes nothing in terms of gameplay, even where some corrections where badly needed. Therefore, this is nothing more than a modernized version of a good JRPG

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Oct 17, 2024

The general perception, a year after the launch of Starfield, was that Shattered Space and all the interventions of the post-launch development team would have served to right the boat, as has happened too many times in recent times. Yet, on these pages, Starfield had been able to earn a flattering vote, which did not disregard, however, a series of problems that the product had highlighted. In approaching Shattered Space, then, your point of view is fundamental: if you were disappointed by the Bethesda title thirteen months ago you won't find anything here that can change your mind, except for a more focused world that does not force you to continuous travel in hyperspace, damaging the pace of the game.

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8 / 10.0 - Ys X: Nordics
Oct 14, 2024

Ys X Nordics is an intuitive and refreshing action JRPG (more action than RPG, to tell the truth) that captures the spirit of the old episodes of the franchise and gives the player a lot of room to explore, loot and fight across the islands of the Obelia Gulf. Not the prettiest PS5 title to date, but certainly a funny and intuitive one.

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Episode Aigis is a decent DLC for a splendid game like Persona 3, to put it in the shortest possible way. It is absolutely not at the level of the base title, because it chooses to completely eliminate the social and life sim dynamics that have contributed to making the Persona franchise unique to focus everything on dungeon crawling, but with procedurally generated levels and several enemies that are simple reskins of those of the main campaign.

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4.8 / 10.0 - REYNATIS
Sep 29, 2024

We played Reynatis so you don't have to. Sometimes too much ambition can lead to a wide gap between on-paper ideas and the actual creation and production processes, and this is very well the case. A convoluted story, a lot of technical issues and boring and repetitive gameplay don't do justice to the great soundtrack.

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Sep 17, 2024

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster happen to be both the best version of the game and a giant missed opportunity. The complete graphics overhaul is very welcome but it ends highlighting even more the age of the AI routines and the inaccurate hitboxes, which are both straight from the 2006 version. Still a good and goofy action game overall, but compromises have to be accepted to fully enjoy it.

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7.9 / 10.0 - Deadlink
Aug 31, 2024

Deadlink is a refreshing and intoxicating roguelite fps that we cannot avoid recommending. It's fast paced, the shooting is good, the upgrade system is clever and the quantity of content is not an issue. We only wish it was more various in its map layout and enemy types, but there's a lot to love here for fps fans.

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Aug 13, 2024

The only case in which we would feel like recommending the Switch version of One Piece Odyssey with our eyes closed would be the one in which the reader is a great fan of the series and owns nothing but the Nintendo hybrid console to play it: the product, after all, remains as good as it was at the time of the first publication, and in its classicism it can still prove interesting regardless of the user's gaming experience.

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Aug 1, 2024

Even without the novelty factor of the first game, Steamworld Heist II is a competent and very funny turn-based strategy game that will appeal both to newcomers and veterans alike thanks to its extended difficulty settings and wealth of content.

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Jul 18, 2024

Dungeons of Hinterberg is a fresh and clever take on the dungeon crawler formula, with a unique spin on the idea of vacations and a likeable protagonist. After a few hours we were sucked in by its gameplay loop, even if there's room for improvements in some areas, such as the balance between combat and puzzles and the frequency of small loading times.

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Trails through Daybreak marks the first time Falcom takes a bet with its franchise, changing its combat system to a degree and some of its gameplay mechanics. The changes are all good for newcomers, which will find an ideal entry point here, but are not so for the longtime fans, who could dislike the action-focused shift and the decrease in the overall level of challenge.

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