With Renegades, Bungie tries an ambitious crossover, but it ends up making Destiny 2 lose its uniqueness. The inspiration from the Star Wars saga feels forced, with a weak story, unconvincing characters, and a universe that ends up being corrupted by alien elements. The campaign is short, the activities are repetitive, and new features are virtually nonexistent. It's only saved from complete disaster by its solid gameplay and a few flashes of brilliance here and there. Definitely not enough to revitalize a struggling live service suffering from an obvious identity crisis.
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Earth vs Mars is a turn-based strategy game that doesn't aim to revolutionize the genre, but rather sticks to the tried-and-true formula of Advance Wars with a small twist: hybrid units infused with animal DNA. The storyline is simple and the retro-inspired art direction is intentional, yet the missions are well-designed and offer a gentle difficulty curve. The hybridization mechanic adds a layer of tactical depth, though it remains the only truly innovative feature. A conservative product, but a solid choice for those looking to explore the genre without too much complexity.
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We're looking at a solid and engaging sequel that expands on the Hades universe without any major revolutions. A conservative second installment, therefore, that builds on the successful formula of its predecessor without overhauling it. Supergiant changes the protagonist, introduces new biomes, deities, and supporting mechanics, but remains faithful to the action roguelite gameplay that was already highly appreciated in 2020. Despite its lack of flaws, however, Hades II fails to shake off the feeling of being "just" a major expansion, rather than a truly new video game.
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The Rogue Prince of Persia presents itself as a solid and engaging roguelite-style action platformer which, despite strongly echoing Dead Cells, manages to carve out its own identity thanks to the protagonist's agility and a fluid, rewarding gameplay experience. The variety of equipment, meta-progression, and procedurally generated levels offer notable depth, although the relatively low difficulty and limited content might disappoint more demanding players.
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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Definitive Edition is an extremely disappointing "definitive" collection: a superficial remaster that fails to honor the iconic first chapter of the RTS saga. The four titles remain solid in terms of content and replayability, but the remaster is minimal and incomplete. Given the steep price, the release feels sloppy and unjustified. Yet another missed opportunity from Relic Entertainment.
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Mafia: The Old Country offers a linear and compact experience, a rarity these days, that makes storytelling its main strength. It's not a revolutionary video game, nor does it aim to be, yet it manages to leave a mark despite the flaws of a gameplay that's overly formulaic. The depiction of early 20th-century Sicily is excellent, thanks to a commendable aesthetic and stylistic effort, and the inclusion of full Sicilian voice acting. Too bad for the many technical issues.
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Despite the introduction of a well-written new character like Lodi and the presence of the Nine, the gameplay in The Edge of Fate proves to be extremely repetitive, with dull puzzles and fetch quests that slow down the action. The Desert Perpetual raid offers a few interesting ideas, but the campaign feels shallow and lacking in narrative momentum, leaving the impression of filler content.
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Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition is a respectful and functional remaster of the RPG originally developed by Obsidian Entertainment. The visuals and overall performance have been improved, though the aesthetics remain dated. Modern accessibility options are lacking, and companion AI still shows its limitations. Nevertheless, most of the content – especially Mask of the Betrayer – shines for its narrative depth. It's a faithful remaster that aims to preserve the original's magic, and largely succeeds in doing so.
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FBC: Firebreak is a cooperative spin-off that seems intriguing on paper but unfortunately lacks substantial content. With only five missions-rather simplistic ones at that-unremarkable classes, a limited variety of enemies, and uninspired weapons, the investment of time and money may not be justified. On top of that, the artificially slow progression system is reminiscent of the worst live-service practices. It might have some appeal if played with a close-knit group of friends, but engagement risks being short-lived.
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Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition is a superfluous remaster. While it features slightly sharper textures, revamped audio, and updated 3D models, the changes are marginal compared to the original game, which is already playable in 4K and enhanced by the 2021 Anniversary Edition. Furthermore, the renewed UI partially undermines the user experience, while the changes to the control scheme make it less flexible. Despite all that, the qualities of the original game are still there.
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F1 25 marks an improvement over the previous installment, featuring new content and a more in-depth My Team mode. The LIDAR scanning has made some tracks much more realistic, though the disparity with those that haven't been updated is noticeable. As for Braking Point, once again, the developers have opted for a highly dramatized approach to Formula 1, resulting in a simplistic and somewhat unrealistic narrative. The driving model remains largely unchanged, offering a good balance between arcade and simulation.
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Monster Train 2 builds upon the winning formula of its predecessor, enriching it with new factions, mechanics, and game modes that expand the content of the original title. Without radically changing anything, it delivers a deep and highly replayable experience, featuring a rewarding progression system and a steadily increasing difficulty curve that encourages dedication, learning, and experimentation. Unfortunately, the random element plays a significant role in high-difficulty matches, but that's both the charm and the challenge of roguelite deckbuilders.
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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered updates the technical aspects of the renowned RPG through the use of Unreal Engine 5, enhancing lighting, animations, and sound. However, it suffers from instability, with frequent crashes and significant drops in frame rate, particularly in open environments. The original issues persist, including the notorious auto-leveling system and an outdated combat system. Additionally, some changes made to the character progression risk amplifying the problems already present in the original version.
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Atomfall is a simplified immersive sim that transports the player into a Quarantine Zone filled with mysteries, where moral decisions shape the course of the adventure and its conclusion. Featuring a retrofuturistic sci-fi setting that is distinctly "British", Rebellion's game offers non-linear progression and a fair degree of freedom. The survival and combat mechanics are solid as well, although the final stages suffer from a sudden and unjustified spike in difficulty.
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After years of anticipation, the series finally ventures into feudal Japan. Combining stunning visuals with engaging gameplay, Assassin's Creed Shadows is hindered by an overly invasive live service model and an underwhelming plot. Nonetheless, its dense open world and rewarding combat system ensure that the experience remains enjoyable.
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Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered is like the coin dilemma. On the one hand we have two video games that are real milestones of videogame entertainment, until now impossible to enjoy in an acceptable way. If the coin had fallen on this side, the Soul Reavers would have been condemned to oblivion. On the other hand, we have a remaster that limits itself to making only the changes essential to use on modern platforms: the bare essentials, the homework. In any case, heads or tails, the game is rigged and no one wins. I'd like to think that there might be a third option, a monumental secret hidden somewhere, but the truth is that we can only settle for this double remaster and hope that the series continues.
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Rogue Flight is a fast-paced and adrenaline-filled rail shooter. The plot and structure of the campaign are good, the latter with five difficulty levels to allow anyone to enjoy it, regardless of their skills. The only let downs is that the roguelite mode is only sketched out and that there is an exaggerated presence of visual effects that are too shiny and annoying.
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Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a sequel that builds on the legacy of Relic Entertainment. It does so by offering an exciting campaign that perfectly conveys that feeling of perpetual war and all the "grimdark" typical of its setting. Even without ever reaching the depth typical of other games in the same genre, the combat system infuses all the physicality and brutality of the Astartes. The optimization is also good, despite some small flaws that can be easily solved with a round of patches. The only let down is the soundtrack, light years away from the epicness of the first game.
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Dystopika is a relaxing city builder without any of the ambitions typical of management video games. It's a pure sandbox game with which to unleash your creativity and build your dream cyberpunk megalopolis.
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The Final Shape is one of Destiny 2's best expansions and a worthy conclusion to the Light and Darkness saga. Lots of content, all beautifully crafted, including an outstanding campaign and exciting endgame activities, are matched by a new subclass and the introduction of some brand new enemies. The latter are not very inspired, to be honest, but in some specific situations they require changing approaches to confrontations to get the upper hand. All in all, a big yes for The Final Shape and for Bungie, which can thus redeem itself after the débâcle of Lightfall.
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