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Gianluca Arena


Favorite Games:

281 games reviewed
76.7 average score
79 median score
60.1% of games recommended
8.5 / 10.0 - SteamWorld Dig 2
Oct 1, 2017

Steamworld Dig 2 builds a solid metroidvania esplorative game upon the foundations laid by its predecessor. Better combat, better level design, better graphics and more in depth gameplay makes this one of the best indie titles available on Nintendo Switch.

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Oct 2, 2017

We fell in love with Battle Chasers Nightwar for its chracter design and wonderful illustrations, but we stayed for its combat system, lenghty campaign and clever New Game Plus mode, which allows to begin anew and experience a different dungeon layout.

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After six successful games and a brilliant spin off, the Layton saga begins anew with this episode, but the end result it's not on par with the quality level we were used to. It's simpler, a little shorter and, more than this, it's double the price if compared to the identical mobile version.

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Oct 9, 2017

Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen is good today as it was back in 2012, as it's still a unique take on the open world action rpg genre. We would have liked some new content and 60 fps, but at a bargain price, it's still recommended.

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8 / 10.0 - Chaos;Child
Oct 10, 2017

Chaos;Child is yet another great entry in the Science Adventure series, with a peculiar but believable cast of characters and a story that will unravel in the less expected ways. An easy recommednation for visual novel fans.

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7 / 10.0 - Hob
Oct 15, 2017

With a below average combat system, a lot of technical issues and almost no story to speak of, Hob is a hard sell for lovers of the previous Runic games. Still, it is graced by a very good art design and clever puzzles.

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6.5 / 10.0 - ELEX
Oct 16, 2017

With Elex Piranha Bytes bited more than he could chew, unfortunately: the games is huge, and we're sure a great effort went into the storytelling and world building, but the combat system is just too clunky and the difficulty curve is off, too much to recommend it.

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Oct 18, 2017

Fire Emblem Warriors is surely the best musou to grace a console in the last years: the strategic elements taken from the Fire Emblem franchise deepen its gameplay, making it attractive even to non-musou fans.

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Nov 6, 2017

Etrian Odyssey V is almost identical to its predecessors, it's completely lacking of a narrative and it's not that pretty to look at. Still, what we have here is a rock solid RPG akin to the ones back in the Dungeons&Dragons days, that will keep you busy for at least fifty to sixty hours.

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Nov 9, 2017

Even though this is the worst version of Doom available up to now, it's still a remarkable achievement for Nintendo's hybrid console and a good version of one of the best shooters of 2016.

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Nov 9, 2017

New year, new Football Manager: this time the people at Sports Interactive added some great features in the scouting department, the medical centre and dynamics, but old problems like the frequency of injuries and the poor media simulation still linger. All considered, a very solid effort nonttheless.

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Nov 11, 2017

Last Recode is a very well done compilation, which includes three games that never saw an official release in Europe and a brand new fourth one. That's a lot of quality content for just fifty bucks.

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Nov 14, 2017

Even though a lot of content in Pokemon Ultrasun and Ultramoon has been recycled from the previous entries, there's still a lot of new things to see and new places to explore, and, more importantly, a great deal of fanservice that will delight long time aficionados of the franchise.

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7 / 10.0 - Demon Gaze II
Nov 26, 2017

Demon Gaze II is very similar to its predecessor, improving in some areas (such as the combat system and the customization level) and making a step back in others (difficulty level, fan service). All in all, a solid entry in the DRPG subgenre, but nothing to write home about.

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Nov 30, 2017

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the third and final gem on the Nintendo Switch crown for this 2017, after Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey: it tells a moving story with easy to love characters and, most of all, mixes a great combat system with an amazing sense of discovery.

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Dec 22, 2017

Sky Force Reloaded is a solid if unremarkable vertical shoot'em up, that capitalizes on the absence of similar titles on both Microsoft and Sony marketplaces. We had fun with it, expecially with a friend locally, but that doesn't mean it is perfect. Still, a reasonable choice for fans of the genre.

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8 / 10.0 - Lost Sphear
Jan 23, 2018

Even though it won't go down as the masterpieces it takes inspiration from, Lost Sphear will give longtime JRPG fans all they could ask, such as a fast and enjoyable combat system and a huge degree of customization. If you don't expect anything groundbreaking, give it a chance.

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8 / 10.0 - Iconoclasts
Feb 4, 2018

Iconoclasts is a different type of metroidvania, favouring environmental puzzles, exploration and story over combat and variety, wrapping everything up in a gorgeous 16 bit pixel art: we cannot avoid recommending it if you're in for an ingenious ride.

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7 / 10.0 - Shu
Feb 10, 2018

Yoshi's Island this is not, but it's a honest and cute (albeit very short) platform, with a handful of good ideas but a strange difficulty curve. If only it didn't play that safe, it could have been a first choice for Switch owners.

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8.5 / 10.0 - Owlboy
Feb 12, 2018

The Switch version of Owlboy is as good as the PC one, which means that we're in presence of a quasi-masterpiece: the ingredients are a touching story, a varied and funny gameplay and an outstanding presentation. if only it was a little shorter, it didn't have to reuse puzzles and ideas.

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