Edge of Eternity oozes the enthusiasm and passion of its developers. The exploration is mostly rewarding, the combat system is engaging, but the lack of focus when it comes to gameplay elements and the uninspiring story make it ultimately unremarkable. It is a big achievement for a small team, but it is not a game I can whole heartedly recommend.
Kingdom of the Dead is the work of a developer who understands what makes classic first-person shooters so fun and captivating. The game is unafraid to be a little unfair. It takes skill to chain headshots, it is hard to deal with big groups of mixed enemies, especially on the higher difficulties. But it feels very good when you ace a boss fight with just a bit of health left over.
The Waylanders is to be commended for the way it takes Celtic mythology and extracts cool moments and conflicts. It’s a great jumping-off point to learn more about the Tuatha De Danann and the stories of pre-Christianity Ireland. It also tries to innovate party-driven RPG combat by focusing on formations and their advantages.
Sifu is a memorable game. It is also a hard game that rewards patience and the willingness to perfect yourself. It is not perfect, but it is fair. One of the few negative aspects we encountered is the camera control that in some scenes it is not just a pain in the ass, but it can cost you an entire run. Another thing we would have oved to see is a more detailed character building, where the story is not just a frame for the action.
Dying Light 2 is bigger and better than the first game. It improves on the original in every aspect while keeping the same formula. It’s a grindy game that can take either hundreds of hours to complete, or just a regular open-world action-adventure that you can finish in about 25-30 hours if you’re just interested in the main story.
Reverie Knights Tactics is a solid experience for anyone looking for a tactical battle title with a classic look and plot. There are no major innovations, but all the core systems work well, offering plenty of ways to deal with the combat puzzles at its core. Aurora is a solid protagonist, and the rest of the cast is likable.
Nobody Saves the World is a fun game, where the story, the quests and every other gameplay element are in the service of the character and evolution system. There are no armours or weapons or potions, it all comes down to the forms that work as classes and mixing their abilities.
Expeditions: Rome knows how to make history exciting and engaging. The tactical engagements offer variety and challenge. Controlling a legion is makes the player feel powerful. Interacting with the likes of Mithridates through dialogue will appeal to history lovers but you don’t have to know the period to enjoy the narrative.
The problem is that the unique time mechanic is the only thing about the title that really stands out. The narrative and characters are just sketches, with nothing to make them interesting. The presentation is almost the definition of average. Time Master is part of a big group of games that have one cool unique idea to show off but its developers at MorpheusZ need to deliver more to make their next title really stand out.
Sands of Salzaar is a big game that will provide hundreds of hours of entertainment to those who fall in love with it. And there’s a lot to like in this package, from the variety of skills and tactical approaches to the many activities that can bring treasure and fame. It does take time to understand all the core mechanics but once that’s done everything is mostly solid. The developer also has long-term plans to support it with patches and new content.
Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice is a good game for a very specific audience. Fans will need to be both interested in character-driven stealth-action sequences and in the universe that the first game in the series has established. Taking down a complex enemy setup with careful planning and timing is challenging and satisfying at the same time. The biggest problem with the package is the focus on big set pieces.
The Gunk is a game that does a decent job of offering ideas that other titles have explored in better ways. The gameplay is fun at first barely evolves. The story, especially the interactions between Becks and Rani, is decent but has nothing especially memorable to offer. The game has everything it needs for some cool cooperative play moments but does not offer those mechanics.
Lacuna is not very long, but it has really high replay value and it checks the correct boxes of an adventure game. But what makes Lacuna really memorable are the atmosphere and the fact that it focuses on consequences rather than morality.
Exodus Borealis is a good mix of genres. It creates tensions by asking gamers to constantly balance priorities and work with limited resources. It introduces quite a bit of complexity with its gems and challenges the player to create a solid tower system that will take down enemies and can be easily expanded.
Faraday Protocol checks the most important checkboxes of the genre: easy to learn mechanics, puzzles that become harder and harder, stylish art style and a few collectibles. Still, you cannot help but wonder why you have the feeling that the game is a bit empty. Despite the AI and your limited interaction with it, most of the time you will feel alone, in a world that is so focused on puzzles that it feels synthetic.
Midnight Protocol is one of the best experiences in the newly ascendant hacking simulation category. Its biggest asset is the simple, yet solid set of mechanics and the way success can only be achieved by carefully balancing aggressiveness and planning, with some guessing thrown in for good measure. The narrative also works well, sketching an immersive world while delivering twists and revelations.
Greak: Memories of Azur despite its strong points in the end fells short due to the flaws od the concept on which is based. The collaboration between the siblings is the worst part of the game, due to the severely lacking AI and the control system chosen by the developers.
Transient Extended Edition is a great concept, but the implementation is flawed on every level. The art style is stunning, but the graphical engine can’t keep the pace. The game world is truly different, but there is not too much to do in it. The puzzles are too simple and feel like a filler so you wouldn’t call the game just a walking simulator.
Punk Wars offers a very classic take on the turn-based strategy space. The four corporations have personality and their own deranged charm but there’s not enough here to make the setting truly compelling. The tactical combat is solid but favors the defensive so much that battles never feel exciting, with too little space to execute complex plans.
This Is the President has a good premise and some fun moments and choices. Playing as a scumbag who’s willing to do almost anything to get complete immunity while screwing or manipulating everyone else can be a hoot. But the concept clashes with the tone of some of the events and decisions in weird ways. You can think about being a good president but the need to get the amendment through overwrites any attempt at actual politics.