Andrei Dumitrescu's Reviews
Moon Studios has not yet announced future plans, but the fact that they worked with Microsoft to create and launch the Definitive Edition for their first title means that gamers should be excited about their future projects.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a fun experience that excels both in terms of mechanics and presentation and manages to showcase the kind of innovation that indie teams can deliver in a genre that has long been ignored.
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide is a game for those who want to get a Left 4 Dead like experience that has a little more depth and uses a fantasy universe rather than an undead apocalypse to get gamers to cooperate.
Starcraft 2 - Legacy of the Void is best described using the words that Blizzard makes a character utter relatively early in the campaign: "It's technology is ancient, yet highly advanced." The phrase manages to capture the way the developers at Blizzard have kept the series fresh, by mining the classic ideas of the real-time strategy genre while seeking to mix them with innovative approaches. For Legacy of the Void the words also nicely encapsulate its relationship with the game engine and the structure of the campaign and multiplayer modes, both of which are as old as the franchise itself but still offer gamers plenty of surprises. Starcraft II deserves its place as one of the most influential releases of the past five years, and this Protoss-focused chapter manages to deliver a fitting end to its core narrative while opening up the multiplayer in some interesting ways.
Life Is Strange is an imperfect video game and the actual mechanics of playing it, including the time rewind, can become annoying of frustrating, especially when the development team tries to borrow from another genre. But the game makes it easy to create a connection with Max and to care about her choices and trials, a rare feat, and that means any fan of narrative-driven experiences should try it out to see how he deals with the feelings of the protagonist and the impact they have on Arcadia Bay.
Football Manager 2016 feels a little thin initially, but as players dig deeper into the experience, they will find that it offers the best expression of the core mechanics that has defined the series for the past few years.
Dirt Rally is a good simulation that features a soli8d set of core mechanics and a lot of variety when it comes to both the tracks and the vehicles, clearly targeted at the kinds of players who already love the sport and its unique challenges.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a good mainstream real-time strategy title that offers a solid prequel story and shows that the core ideas of the series can easily be adapted for planet-based warfare.
Pony Island is a small game that will never manage to get the audience of an AAA release but in many ways, this game is more engaging than plenty of the big launches of last fall because it features some truly innovative moments and can deliver a narrative that it's disturbing and interesting to the end.
Pillars of Eternity: The White March in its entirety represents a worthy expansion for the classic role-playing experience that Obsidian has created and shows how the studio can tackle other regions of Eora in the future.
Cities: Skylines - Snowfall is a good expansion for dedicated fans of the city builder genre who have seen everything that the core game and the After Dark expansion have to offer regarding gameplay.
The Paradox title remains one of the most engaging strategy experiences of the moment, the kind of video game that can occupy hundreds of hours of playtime and can drive gamers to become interested in real-world history linked to the countries that they choose to lead in the video game.
Football Manager 2023 is as solid from the mechanics' point of view as any of its predecessors. Working out tactical problems is as engaging as ever. Winning championships, or even avoiding relegation as the right team, is thrilling.
Chained Echoes is a deep JRPG that will satisfy fans of the genre but is easy enough to understand to attract novices. The combat system, centered Overdrive balancing, is interesting and pretty fast for the genre. The universe, with its mix of influences and retro presentation, offers plenty of secrets and details.
SpellForce: Conquest of Eo has an interesting structure and does a great job of mixing map-driven strategy and tactical engagements. Each of the three wizard archetypes plays very differently and there’s a ton of content to engage with. The world of Eo is beautifully represented, although it’s pretty standard when it comes to fantasy universes.
Company of Heroes 3 is too conservative in terms of gameplay and fails to make its big new mode work as expected. Battles, from skirmishes to bespoke missions in the Italian campaign, are great fun and offer cool tactical puzzles to solve. The strategy map does add another dimension to the experience but patches are needed to realize its full potential.
Blood Bowl 3 is a great video game adaptation of a popular board game, using an updated set of rules and great presentation. The 12 featured teams offer variety and plenty of surprises on the field. The mix of careful planning and chaotic execution means each match is filled with surprises and reversals.
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is an interesting mix of ideas, most of them familiar, with some unique twists. The hand-to-hand combat focus is good, although it takes a lot of experimentation to do everything right. The world is intriguing and surprising, especially when it comes to character and enemy design.
Mail Time is a delightful experience, filled with interesting characters and almost no conflict. All the different quests are fun to engage with and the game offers a nice sense of discovery. I love being helpful and trying to make this small patch of forest a better place for everyone. The party at the end is also a great reward for all the exploration.
Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099 is an excellent blend of ideas and watching the various cage narrative is thrilling. There’s enough of them and they are randomized at the start of a new run, to encourage replayability. The game makes mass surveillance immersive and engaging, which is icky on a conceptual level but makes playing the game very fun.