Arranger: A Role-puzzling Adventure is a beautifully crafted concept game, short, intense, full of ideas and too much fun, both for the fingers and the brain. A beautiful story (with a very likeable protagonist, like all the other characters), simple, direct, told with irony but with a strong and clear message towards our world, a high-level puzzle design and the awareness of finishing when the ideas run out. A convincing first work, with a summery, sunny mood; certainly one of the most original experiences of the year!
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Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is one of the masterpieces of the year, a title that stands out in the already large Annapurna stable and the umpteenth confirmation of Simogo as one of the most talented teams around. A puzzle game, a graphic adventure, an investigative game, even a simple dungeon crawler, chameleonic and always surprising, but above all a cursed, engaging, disturbing story, which starts from the psychological thriller to end up thinking about art in the broadest sense of the term. Maniacal level design, extraordinary atmosphere, incredible moments for a work that I am under no illusion can have commercial success but which, perhaps, like certain auteur films, can become cult.
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An adorable cast that is impossible not to love, a lot of extras (including DLC) and a super-improved quality of life are further points in favor for this second Trilogy, dedicated above all to those who are discovering the series in recent years, but also recommended to those who want to relive these events after a long time. No objection, Your Honor!
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A Highland Song is yet another Inkle center. An adventure platformer capable of mixing the pleasure of trekking (beautifully rendered in 2D) with a delicate, enveloping and branched narrative like the paths that cross the highlands. An intimate story, the one that Moira constantly broods over to herself, but also a cultural cross-section of a land rich in myths, legends, traditions and history, embellished by very human characters, a little crazy, capable of becoming fun interlocutors with whom to have a chat after a long climb, resting and sheltering from the cold of the mountains. Suggestive, audiovisually inspired, playfully fluid and very centered. Now I really want to visit Scotland.
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Instant classic, without mincing words. Cocoon is a magnetic, sneaky work, of those that you just do not know when to stop playing with it, so organic, fluid, stimulating, absolutely determined not to give brain breaks. A puzzle adventure that constantly seeks the new, the amazement, with the virtuous reuse of known design elements that, used with wisdom, support and allow the explosion of ideas of pure videogame genius. Shots of champions, which have often led me to relive the impact of Fez and the first, surprising indie masterpieces of the past decade. A special video game, one that is not easily forgotten and of which we will find the geniuses in many other titles in the years to come.
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Summing up, The Crew Motorfest makes variety its strong point and its postcard views a perfect setting to experience everything it has to offer. An open world a bit 'stripped of significant secondary activities, which however excels for atmosphere and works as a link between the playlists, the real strength of the production. Of course, not all driving systems have succeeded in the same way, but the possibility of changing elements and gameplay so suddenly allows you to always keep curiosity and the desire to race high, simply because apart from GTA, a completely different genre and mood, there are no other series that offer such a great variety of engines. Quantity, thus, also stops certain qualitative holes. What remains is the feeling of vacation, persistent and precious.
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I have to be honest, 3 years after the fourth episode I would have expected a more evolved fifth chapter and, instead, net of a decidedly more centered and engaging career, the competition against AI suffers from illogical behaviors that the player is forced to manage manually, while technically there is no current-gen quality leap that could be expected, without the ballast of a cross-gen development. At its best is always Ride, an almost unique game in the panorama of simulation racing and therefore a reference point for those looking for this specific type of experience. But here there is potential that goes far beyond the improvements expressed in this chapter, closer to those of an annual series than a triennial one.
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Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a great second season that makes the already beautiful Oxenfree feel like a pilot episode. An intense, exciting and playfully aware narrative adventure, capable of perfectly integrating gameplay with writing. Artistically remarkable, thematically profound, full of tense situations, where to make decisions and direct the fate of our protagonists, playing the part that seems most suitable to us, without the story ever lacking in coherence. If this is what Netflix wants to do with the video game, the future looks rosy for lovers of this genre (success permitting). Radio chills.
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MotoGP 23 is the qualitative leap that the Milestone series needed. We are not talking about revolutions, it would be unrealistic to think so, but about consistent improvements in all the characteristic aspects of the title, from the simulation verve through an engaging career, from a high-profile technical sector to the physical and mental sensations of the race, where the AI exhibits new behaviors although some issues still persist
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Swordship is a great example of contemporary arcade. It does one thing, it does it well, and it's incredibly fulfilling, challenging, and exhilarating. Smugglers of the post-climate change future against corporations, pirates at the service of the least, always ready to take risks and with a great sense of entertainment. Great management of the risk / benefit component, precise controls, audiovisual remarkable, with each game over generating more sense of revenge than frustration. A truly remarkable work in its compactness.
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Need for Speed: Unbound is a particular work, capable of forcefully bringing back street culture, the contemporary one of generation Z, but unable to create new spaces of playful expression. Everything that revolves around the characters of the story and our avatar works like god, from the style chosen to describe them to the driving system, from the soundtrack to the special effects in graffiti style, in contrast with a Lakeshore that, despite its vibrant technical realization, remains an ordinary and almost anonymous city, a hub with some collectibles scattered around that acts as a glue to a rather lazy playful structure.
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A promising debut for Jumpship, with a perfect Game Pass title that can easily be finished in one evening but that would have deserved some extra polish. I want to believe.
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Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is not just one of the best exclusives for Nintendo Switch, it is a game capable of evolving significantly compared to the previous chapter, reaching an absolute playful level. A hilarious, light-hearted, creative but also well-kept work, with an artisanal level design and constantly growing for the duration of the adventure, exactly like a combat system that is pure joy, tactically deep and at the same time hyper-dynamic, comic and at the complete disposal of the player's creativity.
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Soulstice turned out to be a good stylish action game, with a solid combat system embellished with good ideas, able to tell its excellent protagonists, Briar and Lute, both through the battle and with the cutscenes. The story of Ilden's veil torn above the sky is intriguing, with beautiful twists and a well-studied mythology, it is therefore a pity that the setting is not able to sustain this charm, despite the very good basic technique, trapped in a artistic direction that is often too generic and redundant.
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Islets is a compact, very nice metroidvania, full of ideas and adorable characters. A beautiful, hand-drawn world divided into six parts to be put together, rebuilt, setting off on an adventure that is as crazy as it is epic.
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Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course is like one of those delicious cream puffs, a single explosive mouthful with which you risk getting lost in a blissful glycemic trance.
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Shredders is a peculiar work full of contradictions. If its narrative, crazy, hilarious and embellished by the participation of some snow stars is as fresh as snow, his good gameplay (inspired by Steep) must clash with a disastrous technical performance. Still a game worth trying, especially on Game Pass.
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Gran Turismo 7 brings the saga back to a balance between single player and multiplayer, with a rich, dense campaign with a relaxed but constant and satisfying progression. The control system is spectacular, enhanced by DualSense, while the lighting and attention to detail do justice to the potential of PlayStation 5. Pure automotive culture.
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The premises were there, the artistic direction is probably one of the most impactful and evocative seen in the 2D field in recent years, but GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is lost in the execution.
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OlliOlli World is one of the best platformers of recent years, a spectacular interpretation of the skate genre and, in general, a very fun, serene game, as relaxing as it is competitive, as spiritual as it is consistent and muscular.
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