Bogdan Robert Mateș's Reviews
West of Dead is constantly at odds with itself and, while that doesn’t make it a bad game, it does make it harder to love.
Shadows: Awakening attempts to stray away from being a typical ARPG but lacks the juice to keep things interesting until its closing moments.
Part of me wishes Through The Woods stuck to being a “walking simulator” where you read about forsaken people, hopelesness and monsters while unraveling the troubled history of the main character in a beautiful-if-somewhat-samey setting with great atmosphere. Sadly, all that’s on offer is a debut title that fails to deliver on any of its promises.
The First Tree is a one-man indie project, so, perhaps some lack of polish is to be expected. However, looking at it as a full package, it does have enough areas that could well benefit from improvement.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Winds of Magic and its 2.0 update are yet another shaky step in the game’s post-launch journey.
Mass Effect: Andromeda attempts to build upon the foundation of the previous games. We see that in the presence of all the weapon ammo patterns and the Nomad. In some ways, like the large explorable areas and the cover-based combat system that’s been infused, and subsequently refreshed, with a good bit of movement and versatility on the skill front, it succeeds.
On its own, Dawn Of War III is a good strategy game that, while lacking in certain areas, can provide epic battles. As a continuation of the series, however, it's easily overshadowed by past iterations as it fails to find enough strengths of its own.
Albion Online certainly requires a specific mindset to be enjoyed. That mindset is, indeed, very different from those required in theme park MMOs, mostly because Albion doesn’t hold your hand, nor does it give you a guaranteed tree to chop, a quick way to get back home or a story to follow.
My time with Aztez can be described as a mixture of enjoyment and unwelcome frustration. It has the pieces it needs to be a great title and there were moments when slashing through foes and connecting a long streak of attacks felt extremely satisfying.
Bastard’s Wound is, simply put, more Tyranny. Compared to something like The White March, I found it to have surprisingly few things that end up truly standing out once you’ve left the settlement behind.
Phoenix Point’s great aspects do eventually shine through, as long as you’re willing to weather some fairly harsh storms and deal with lackluster onboarding and presentation.
Gorgeous yet unoptimized, BattleTech: Urban Warfare's futuristic cityscapes challenge players to approach combat differently.
Graveyard Keeper is an engaging sim that's a little too cheap with giving out information.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - Beast of Winter is a more focused DLC that's at its best when it expands on key lore moments.
Mothergunship's glorious, fast-paced action is let down in the long run by a small enemy roster and repeating room layouts.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Evil West's old-school sensibilities aren't what drag it down, although its linear levels might not appeal to everyone. Its combat feels glorious when it clicks, but the studio's latest third-person shooter struggles to find its stride, resulting in a fun but rather unremarkable adventure.