With Gears of War: E-Day, Microsoft has unequivocally demonstrated its desire to restore the series to its former glory, and that The Coalition is the perfect studio to do so. From the campaign to the multiplayer modes, from the gameplay to the graphics and aesthetics, everything reflects the creative and developmental richness of a major production done right—not just thanks to a massive budget and many years of work, but also to good intentions, excellent ideas, and exceptional execution. At the same time, there’s no denying that there are a few minor issues here and there: the campaign suffers from some slight narrative, structural, and audio mixing shortcomings (including lip sync), while Versus and Horde Siege lack content volume—evidently in anticipation of substantial post-launch support.
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The Prisoner shines in showing the horror and the atmosphere of war, having moments with great impact and a really immersive aesthetic, especially when confronting the main antagonist. That said, the game still has problems: the gameplay does the bare minimum, the narrative doesn’t convince fully and the technical aspect still doesn’t address the issues already present with the main game.
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It’s really hard to evaluate this project. While the graphical improvements are great and a joy for the eyes and the game still has the great core gameplay of the series, little work was done to enhance sections of the game that are simply unfit for the modern times. Overall, the changes that were made are simply superfluous, not addressing the main problems of the original game whatsoever.
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Mina the Hollower is a splendid tribute not only to a specific era of the past, but also to an approach to video games that is becoming increasingly rare these days. Ossex and its surroundings exude character from every pore thanks to a mix of absurd personalities, bizarre dialogue and unexpected situations, presented to the player through a truly remarkable layering of quests, activities and events. The gameplay follows this same formula, offering a combat system that is mechanically simple yet effective, and a platforming element that evolves over time with an endless array of ideas and movement mechanics that are varied and increasingly unique.
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Luna Abyss is a game that is technically, gameplay-wise, and creatively flawed, revealing numerous shortcomings in its development. From the narrative structure to the shooting mechanics, from the progression systems to the exploration mechanics, there is a noticeable lack of boldness and experience on the part of the team—a shortcoming compounded, among other things, by a budget that was certainly not generous. Beyond that, however, the good intentions are all there: the world-building has its own unique qualities, and the atmosphere is steeped in a rare sense of mystery and charm, which is then brought to life on screen through an art style that is nothing short of sensational.
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Grime II revamps the thematic, conceptual, and narrative foundations of the first game in grand style, infusing that world with a fresh dose of flair and thematic charm, while still brimming with expressive potential. From a gameplay perspective as well, the game introduces a whole host of new mechanics that shake up the gameplay landscape, making it infinitely more intriguing, dynamic, and full of possibilities than before. Unfortunately, however, Clover Bite has stumbled upon some development hiccups: in addition to a certain underlying clunkiness and graphics that aren’t exceptional
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The game offers a mixed experience. While the launch was filled with technical issues and critical bugs in multiplayer—which, fortunately, have already been addressed by tempestive patches—the game more than makes up for its problems with visually stunning graphics and an ambient sound design that’s extraordinary at building tension. There’s just a slight bitter disappointment left by a soundtrack that’s purely atmospheric—effective, but far from the iconic and memorable themes we’ve come to expect from a “sibling” of Little Nightmares.
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With Nioh 3, Team Ninja makes its creative intentions clearer and more unmistakable than ever: to take gameplay and the combat system to the next level. The style-switching mechanic, combined with the myriad of weapons, move sets, abilities, tools, and transformations, vastly expands the range of playstyles and makes the whole experience even more technical, dynamic, and stylish. Despite a still-questionable loot system and several concerns about the game’s balance, the title offers an even more elaborate set of progression and upgrade systems, making the final experience one of the richest and most immersive available. The new game structure is also highly appreciated; while it may seem flat and bland compared to that of other titles, it represents a true creative liberation from that of previous installments, finally opening the door to new design possibilities for DLC and, why not, even for future main titles.
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While the initial scepticism was in part cancelled by great cutscene direction, sound design, smooth writing and very compelling additions to gameplay such as new weapons and abilities, the pros end here: the plot has yet to take off and the new systems added don’t bring anything refreshing to the formula, opting to instead just repurpose existing gameplay models that feel stale.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is yet another instalment in the franchise exhibiting a futuristic campaign hampered by psychological clichés and a content-saturated multiplayer mode which sticks to the series’ staples. While bold in its nature, the game’s campaign relies almost entirely on back-to-back armed confrontations lacking depth and detail, as well as solely being playable on server-based lobbies. The multiplayer experience comes across as well-rounded but overall stale.
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Little Nightmares III is an incredibly immersive and engaging title that faithfully maintains the series' unique horror style, making it feel like a product of the original developers and showing Supermassive Games' competent and careful approach to the source material. However, the game suffers from major flaws, such as a superficial gameplay that makes the experience too easy and short, and an abundance of bugs and technical issues, including glitches and instability in co-op/AI performance.
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Despite adding many new and not so refined features and featuring a frankly weaker sound design than its predecessors, Doom: The Dark Ages is a brilliant game that promises hours of pure mayhem and a bright future for the saga. It's heavy, it's brutal, and it's a new era of Doom, although many things could have been better.
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Avowed is a true Obsidian RPG: it's narratively solid, easy to learn and combat-focused. It's unexpectedly pleasing to the eye and it features an improved level design, leading to an intricate and beautiful map that is also fun to explore. What Avowed lacks is polishing and interactivity: its world is very static and its technical aspects leave much to be desired.
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Deadlink stands out as a “pick-up-and-play” experience, focused solely on delivering fun. The gameplay is thrilling, and the roguelite structure, while not innovative, adds variety. Its visuals, narrative, and world-building feel underwhelming, but it’s a great excuse to take a break from more complex roguelites and enjoy some satisfying action.
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Indiana Jones And The Great Circle is one of the most sincere and wholehearted love letters the gaming industry has ever done to the film one. MachineGames has managed to craft an experience that is both very faithful to the original and compelling to play: it's unexpectedly deep and narratively entertaining, so much that it's easy to forgive its many technical shortcomings.
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Black Ops 6 is a good Call of Duty game. It's neither revolutionary nor perfect, but it manages to be convincing enough in almost every aspect: it has a good single player campaign that lacks a bit of depth and the Zombies mode is fun for a few hours, although its maps get boring quickly. PvP is the main deal as always: the real game changer is the all-new Omnimovement system, which allows for more lively and frenetic battles and represents a new beginning for the Call of Duty franchise as a whole.
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Unfortunately, Awaken: Astral Blade is a rather mediocre title, lacking narrative punch and creative inspiration. It suffers from structural oversights in game design, alongside numerous minor issues that are hard to overlook, especially given the high standards set by the genre. That said, it’s not a total failure—its unique combo mechanics and smooth controls make for an exciting, spectacular combat system.
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Shadow of Erdtree is the largest DLC the gaming world has received to date. Shadow Realm turns out to be a very valuable addition to Lands Between, with beautiful new areas, amazing new boss fights, and a fulfilling new level-up system that gives the feeling of being in the Elden Ring Endgame.
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The Final Shape is a concentrate of content, beautiful ideas and interesting innovations from both a technical and mechanical point of view. Now more than ever, Bungie teaches the gaming industry how to create a GaaS expansion ten years after the release of the first Destiny chapter.
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Dead Island 2 offers a zombie-themed adventure that is entertaining both in terms of atmosphere and gameplay. There is also an unexpected attention to detail in terms of graphics. However, the plot fails to be anywhere near as original as the characterisation of its characters.
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