Bogdan Robert Mateș's Reviews
As was the case with its predecessor, Frostpunk 2's city building and society management layers aren't particularly deep on their own but fuse into a cohesive whole that grips you soon after you arrive in its frozen wasteland.
Wrestling with Conscript's controls is, without a doubt, its main source of dread and horror, which is likely not what it was going for in the first place. When its combat mechanics don't get in the way, the sound design helps instill a sense of unease, but fear is thoroughly absent beyond a few choice first encounters.
Although flawed, Thrones of Decay is a desperately needed step in the right direction for Total War: Warhammer 3. The strong roster of Legendary Lords alongside new units that add flavor and fill gaps in their factions' rosters do the heavy lifting. They offer compelling reasons to revisit or try out their respective races, especially if you also factor in the reworks coming in update 5.0.
Alone in the Dark presents a promising yet imperfect reimagining that captures the essence of a mesmerising, atmospheric adventure game. However, it struggles to rationalise the inclusion of clunky combat and basic stealth elements that detract from the overall experience.
Praying in Vain
War Hospital is a primarily functional World War I management simulation game that struggles to establish a meaningful connection between players and their staff and patients. As you progress beyond the initial hours, the gameplay becomes bogged down by repetitive mechanics exacerbated by an inadequate user interface with insufficient tooltips and unclear instructions, accompanied by a host of frustrating bugs that compelled me to frequently reload older save files and restart entire chapters.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is at its best when it encourages you to be patient and focus on discovering its world, taking in the strange shapes of its trees and plants, while uncovering Na'Vi stories and customs. Easily the best way to experience the universe envisioned by James Cameron, it's also a fun enough take on a FarCry game, albeit not one that refreshes Ubisoft's tired formula nearly enough.
The repetitive minigames that occupy a significant portion of the gameplay in Zipp's Cafe tend to hinder its charm, despite the narrative potential that flickers through its admittedly dry dialogues. While the game succeeds to some extent in immersing players into its expansive setting, the lackluster routine of food and drink preparation, coupled with insufficiently developed characters, makes it challenging to feel drawn into becoming a frequent visitor.
A masterpiece in terms of atmosphere building and one of the few games in a long while that effortlessly kept me fully engrossed in its world, Alan Wake 2 is Remedy Entertainment's best game yet. Expert use of the contrast between light and dark works in tandem with spot-on sound design and deadly enemies to successfully insert horror even in the most inoffensive of places.
When played in solo mode, Endless Dungeon creates a functional blend of elements from different genres that, unfortunately, fails to capitalize on the uniqueness of its universe and keep things interesting in the long run. Stale rogue-lite progression systems alongside heroes and guns that do not go through significant transformations as you play then fuel tedium.
The Lamplighters League's stimulating turn-based battles encourage you to carefully consider your actions each turn. Use your agents unique abilities in just the right order and you can go well beyond the default number of action points, while taking down entire groups of opponents.
Remnant 2's revamped archetype system and improved world generation breathe new life into what otherwise remains an iterative sequel that sees no need to fix what isn't broken. Great gunplay and creative weapon mods fuel its addictive moment-to-moment gameplay, while offering enough reasons to keep clearing dungeons, grinding materials, and upgrading or trying out new guns.
Age of Wonders 4: Dragon Dawn offers a satisfactory amount of content at its price point, focusing on a beloved element of the fantasy genre. The inclusion of mixed affinity tomes adds intriguing twists to gameplay, although witnessing the evolution of new units can prove challenging due to their inherent fragility. The larger dragon units and Dragon Lords themselves appropriately embody a sense of awe and power on the battlefield.
Diablo 4 doesn't revolutionize hack and slash RPGs like its predecessors did, but its blend of new and old features works quite well. Its return to a darker, gothic art style that embraces gore, ugliness, and religious imagery really makes its world effortlessly etch into your mind the detailed shapes of demonic sculptures and remains of obliterated foes.
Drenched in retro nostalgia, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is a straightforward boomer shooter with a 40K skin. Its minimal story is as bog-standard as Warhammer gets, but is enough to justify the on-screen slaughter, while allowing for a pure focus on satisfying action.
Age of Wonders 4 reshuffles some elements of the traditional 4X strategy formula in rather significant ways, making for an entry that puts choice and customization at the forefront. It does so excellently, offering plenty of spells and culture combinations that let you roleplay a variety of archetypal or contradictory factions while seeking the most overpowered spell and unit mix.
Dead Island 2's visceral combat can effortlessly pull you into the zone as you slash, shoot, and kick zombies, while making sure they head into the afterlife with fewer limbs attached. A simple but effective upgrade system gives you the means to counter any foe, while its varied arsenal of melee and ranged weapons keeps things interesting for a good while.
Total War: Warhammer 3: Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs introduces a much-needed new race and units, potentially signaling a faster pace for post-launch content. While not every mechanic introduced is as impressive as the flames of Hashut and the campaign revisits some familiar tactics, it never truly disappoints. The diverse roster of units is the true highlight of this expansion.
Aware of its past yet looking towards the future, Company of Heroes 3 offers something for everyone. The dynamic map of Italy is a great experience, although it's slightly marred by passive AI, abilities that don't always work, small UI issues, and a gameplay loop that doesn't encourage the use of all available tools.
In a month or five or twelve, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide may reach the state it should have launched in. In a month or five or twelve, it may become a co-op game that's easy to recommend. But while I undoubtedly had fun during the missions I completed over 40+ hours playing both the pre-order beta and full versions, it's clear that we're dealing with yet another title whose potential isn't allowed to fully shine through at launch.