Arkane Studio's Redfall stretches the very definition of what a finished game should be. It's unfinished, unpolished and uninspired in almost every regard. It feels like a dye prototype years from a full release. The few moments of Arkane's magic, when visual design of the vampires, some fun weapons and frantic co-op gameplay come together are quickly overshadowed by catastrophic bugs, bad performance and an empty-lifeless shell of a game.
Review in German | Read full review
Despite some technical rough edges, "Age of Wonders 4" offers an excellent gaming experience for all strategy fans and those who want to become one. Not only does the campaign require tactical skill, but it also presents you with an interesting challenge as you create the ideal race for each scenario. The fact that you'll slowly build up your pantheon between saves and unlock new customization options for your races in a separate talent tree provides more long-term motivation than many other 4X titles.
Review in German | Read full review
Tin Hearts is a wonderful little game of guiding toy soldiers through the remnants and memories of a toy workshop. While a little light on challenging experienced players, an excellent level progression, heartwarming story, and downright adorable visual design more than make up for it. However, the Nintendo Switch version suffers from muddy textures and occasional stutters that pull an otherwise excellent experience down.
Review in German | Read full review
This prequel ironically feels smaller in scope and ambition than the first game in the series. Road 96 Mile 0 suffers from similar issues when it comes to relying too much on clichés of an evil regime. Some of the choices put before players are downright insulting and boil down to whether we think oppression is "okay" or not. Despite its flaws, it offers some really interesting character moments in the last third and offers some world building that was missing from the original Road 96. Newcomers find a good entry point here, while returning players will find some innovations gone, while other things like the environments have been largely improved.
Review in German | Read full review
Meet Your Maker presents a fun, new take on level-builders like Mario Maker and classical shooters. Running and gunning is a quick and painful way to die here. Instead players should expect a surprisingly tactical take on post-apocalyptic grave robbery that's more than a little light on content at launch. As a live service, developer Behaviour Interactive (also responsible for Dead by Daylight) promises new content in regular intervals and if they can keep that up, this definitely has the potential for a cult classic.
Review in German | Read full review
Scars Above takes some time to unfold ist true potential, both in the story and its gameplay. The exploration of this unknown planet in the role of a stranded researcher is unforgiving and refuses to compromise on the almost puzzle-like combat, even if some encounters early on can be frustrating as you get to grips with how the game wants you to play. Scars Above isn't for everyone, as it demands a lot more thought and strategy during combat than it lets on, but if you're willing to learn and be patient, this one's definitely worth your time.
Review in German | Read full review
Atomic Heart immediately draws you in with its enchantingly weird story of a retro-futuristic Soviet Union. However, an interesting and visually compelling vision is hampered by a meandering story and some truly awful combat encounters. What comes to mind is style over substance, yet there’s plenty of content to be found here, just none of it standing out as particularly well-polished. Still, the game has a fair share of interesting ideas and moments that make it worth experiencing despite its flaws.
Review in German | Read full review
Wild Hearts does not revolutionize the hunting game genre, but with as few competitors, that is hardly necessary. The building system both in and outside of combat adds enough variety and depth that the simpler weapons and streamlined crafting are welcome. Sadly, technical flaws, such as blurry visuals and horrendous pop-in keep this otherwise great game from making a play on Capcom's throne. It is a title, however that we're eager to see expanded upon and further developed in the already planned title updates and hopefully eventually in a sequel. As it stands, it's a fun alternative to Monster Hunter, but cannot live up to those games' polish and sheer endless depth of content.
Review in German | Read full review
An undeniable classic refined with modern graphics and controls, as well as a bevy of accessibility options. While it's still an amazing gaming experience, it does raise the question where the two sequels remain. The re-release on the Wii already showed the games' agelessness, even if the new graphical enhancements are welcome. Either an even lower retail price or more substancial changes would have been welcome, but what we got is still enough to make Metroid fans rejoice.
Review in German | Read full review
An original setting and fun, albeit hectic fights make a very good first impression. Unfortunately, "Helvetii" does not manage to maintain this freshness for a long time. The 2D brawler is by no means bad, but the roguelike genre harms the fun because the different passes lack variation. "Helvetii" can be fun for quite a while, and especially the very different playable characters help. Sooner or later, however, this rustic Swiss fairy tale runs out of steam.
Review in German | Read full review
One thing should be said right from the start: "Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition" is and remains an excellent strategy game with an incredible number of hours of play for strategy fans. We think it's great that a piece of video game history has made it to consoles, even if you have to make some compromises when it comes to controls. So, unsurprisingly, for hardcore purists, there's no reason to play the game on console instead of PC. But that's not necessary, because it is precisely through the availability in Gamepass that the game reaches a new audience, which now has a chance to experience a classic of video game history at its best.
Review in German | Read full review
But what if you're brand new to the Persona series? Then we actually recommend you to get started with "Persona 5 Royal", the latest version of "Persona 5". Since the games do not build on each other and each devour 80 hours of play, it is worth getting started with the most modern and beginner-friendly offshoot. Then you can focus on the classic titles.
Review in German | Read full review
But what if you're brand new to the Persona series? Then we actually recommend you to get started with "Persona 5 Royal", the latest version of "Persona 5". Since the games do not build on each other and each devour 80 hours of play, it is worth getting started with the most modern and beginner-friendly offshoot. Then you can focus on the classic titles.
Review in German | Read full review
Although we would have hoped for a lot more on the technical side thanks to current-gen exclusivity, "Need for Speed Unbound" leaves a positive overall impression. Sure, the strange mix of cel-shading and realism is not for everyone, but at least sets the game apart from other series parts and racing games. The constant threat from the police is initially entertaining, but quickly becomes annoying if you want to earn enough money to visually customize several cars. This is exactly where "Need for Speed Unbound" has its strength, which hasn't been in the series for a long time. The tuning and adaptation of the vehicles as well as the progress through the story motivate tremendously and are reminiscent of series highlights such as "Underground 2" or "Most Wanted". Sooner or later, however, the unpleasant smell of burnt rubber always remains in the nose.
Review in German | Read full review
What The Callisto Protocol lacks in truly original ideas it more makes up for in presentation and atmosphere. A game this polished and confident from a newly formed studio that had to work through a pandemic is nothing short of impressive. While it won’t change anyone‘s mind who didn’t like the spiritual predecessor Dead Space, this brings back unsettling space horror at its peak.
Review in German | Read full review
Despite a very rough start and many technical issues is Sonic Frontiers a game that we thoroughly enjoyed. It may very well be an odd form of Stockholm syndrome, being enchanted by the cringe-worthy voice acting, the absurd story, all mixed with some of the best gameplay flow the sonic games ever had in the third dimension. As soon as some of the big boss battles hit, the game shows that it’s much more than just a cheap imitation of Breath of the Wild. A full recommendation however isn’t possible with the technical state the game released in. A few patches are desperately needed for fix some of the glitches and underwhelming textures and animations.
Review in German | Read full review
Pentiment might just be one of the weirdest AAA-games released this year. By stripping gameplay down to little more than walking and talking, this medieval crime drama feels like a visual novel that took the genre’s title a little too literal. The graphical style is heavily inspired by the illustrations of medieval books, which ties directly back into the main character’s background story as an illustrator. With an excellent story, great dialogue and too many mysteries for just a single playthrough, this odd little gem is one that may take some getting used to, but will reward you for your patience with a story more interactive and deeper than most.
Review in German | Read full review
Your spirit is the only one that is a purely positive attribute. Spirit acts as a kind of mana for your special attacks, but can alternatively be used to restore your mind through meditation. So you need a constant supply of all three values. Through accumulated experience points in the three disciplines and hidden crystals, you can also expand your supply in a skill tree or unlock passive bonuses. These abilities are quite nice, but with the exception of the extended bar for health, mind and mind, they often only have a noticeable effect in very specific situations.
Review in German | Read full review
The struggles and the slow work up in the medieval hierarchy are good enough to keep us glued to the screen until late into the night. Especially if you want to compete against other army leaders in multiplayer mode, you should definitely take a look here, because "Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord" is a gaming experience like no other despite its flaws.
Review in German | Read full review
Gotham Knights should not be confused as a sequel to the excellent Batman: Arkham Knight. Instead this Spin-Off explores a new and interesting story about the death of Gotham’s protector and falls victim to some of modern gaming’s worst trends. The crafting system feels unsubstantial and while the four different playable characters are all different and interesting, it feels like substantial abilities of the prior games were taken away and locked behind different characters, rather than each member of the bat family bringing something new to the table. Despite its shortcomings and missteps, we found “Gotham Knights” to be very fun to play, when focusing on the story over the repetitive open world activities and the multiplayer is an excellent fit for both the story and style of game.
Review in German | Read full review