Joel Kogler


71 games reviewed
79.5 average score
80 median score
47.8% of games recommended
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Unscored - Persona 4 Golden
Jan 23, 2023

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.

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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.

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60% - Redfall
May 5, 2023

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.

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Oct 19, 2022

The Last Oricru is undoubtedly flawed, but underneath a rough exterior and a multitude of bugs and glitches hides a videogame made with clear passion, focusing more on an engaging story with many branching paths rather than a particularly deep combat system or polished looks. The addition of local and online co-op is remarkable and while online co-op brings with it a whole new flood of potential bugs and lag, local multiplayer works remarkably well. With a few patches and the right audience that enjoys flawed but inspired games like Elex or Greedfall, this can become a diamond in the rough.

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Jun 26, 2023

There's no denying that "Crime Boss: Rockay City" is, at its core, a brazen copy of Overkill's "Payday 2." The supposedly dark gangster story about the "charismatic" Travis Baker is more in the wake of the trashiest B-movies of the 1990s. Whether intentional or not, "Crime Boss: Rockay City" has a certain charm and can inspire over a longer period of time thanks to a solid solo campaign. The game is certainly not for everyone, but it also shows that first impressions can be deceiving.

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66 / 100 - Gods Will Fall
Jan 29, 2021

“Gods Will Fall” has some interesting ideas and on first glance the dynamic story events and risk-rewarding combat system are promising, but the game fails to provide meaningful variation. The design of the world and its cruel and twisted inhabitants are noteworthy, but sadly the gameplay fails to match the promising art design. As harsh as it sounds, there are just too many better rogue-likes on the market for this one to compete.

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66 / 100 - Hellpoint
Aug 18, 2020

Another Indie-title attempting to leave a mark in the souls-like genre. Hellpoint brings in some interesting ideas and at times offers stunning visual design. Imprecise gameplay and frustrating difficulty spikes however mean that this game is better left in space where nobody can hear the screams of frustration.

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Feb 18, 2024

While Skull & Bones is far from the worst game ever made, it completely fails in conveying its vision of becoming a legendary pirate captain. Instead, it chases every conceivable gaming trend from excessive crafting, battle passes and hands-off story telling and leaves next to no impact whatsoever. Even among Ubisoft titles, often mocked for their bland sandbox approach, “Skull & Bones” seemingly perfected the blandness with a sparse few highlights when environment, multiplayer and ship combat all click into place and reveal a wealth of untapped potential.

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Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is not a complete failure. An excellent presentation and some gripping story moments as well as a very good introduction provide a few hours of successful entertainment. Still, it's hard not to focus on the missed potential, whether that's the overly simplistic combat system, the characters playing very similarly, or the lack of motivation to continue playing after the story. Especially in multiplayer mode, the title can be fun, but the full price for it is not justified.

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Nov 14, 2022

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.

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Jan 3, 2024

In its own way, Gangs of Sherwood is a very focused game. The fights are entertaining, and the four characters are very well delineated from each other. It's fun to learn the combos and finish each fight in the most stylish way possible. Unfortunately, this façade crumbles as soon as you look behind the successful battles. Whether it's design, story or variety: "Gangs of Sherwood" is stuck deep in mediocrity. If you can overlook it and also grab a friend or two online, you can still have a lot of fun here.

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Apr 6, 2023

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.

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72% - Helvetii
Feb 6, 2023

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.

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74 / 100 - Maid of Sker
Aug 5, 2020

A very atmospheric horror game that suffers from technical issues and punishing checkpoints. The unsettling story based off welsh folklore is worth pushing through the adversities nonetheless. As far as first-person horror goes, this isn’t the best choice, but it’s also far from the worst.

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Feb 14, 2024

On the one hand, the game has a great addictive factor thanks to excellent multiplayer gameplay and short, crisp missions. The outstanding graphics and audio quality perfectly accompany the war on the dark front and make you want to explore every corner. Unfortunately, the business strategies of Sony and Arrowhead Games stand in the way of the good game. With regular crashes and connection problems, as well as a very limited scope and many promises, "Helldivers 2" seems more like a very good Early Access game. In addition, there is a strong focus on microtransactions, which does not allow us to fully enjoy the excellent gameplay.

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Oct 28, 2023

"Endless Dungeon" is first and foremost a multiplayer game. In the coordination of the defensive towers and the joint restraint of the horde, the game unfolds its full potential. Together with friends, the negative points, such as the rather minimalist progression system, the meager weapon selection and the fluctuating game balance, are much less significant. For solo players, there are far better roguelikes, making every single playthrough a new, exciting adventure.

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Apr 4, 2023

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.

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Dec 7, 2022

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.

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Nevertheless, "Asterigos: Curse of the Stars" offers a surprisingly round gaming experience, especially in its price segment and genre, which does not knock anyone's socks off, but also does not deeply disappoint anyone.

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Feb 20, 2023

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.

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