Chris Boers
The Ascent provides a vibrant, living environment for you to run around in and shoot at. The world is brimming with walking-talking NPCs and neon-filled areas. While the story isn't really that memorable, it's decent enough for you to push on to the next mission, which will lead you to diverse locations and up against different enemies. The bigger enemies can be a bit too much bullet sponges, but otherwise the gameplay and diverse possibilities are quite satisfying.
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Much of this was already applicable to the predecessors of this fifth part, so there are question marks about this annual update. If you don't necessarily need to have the latest team updates and racer names, you can also work with one of the earlier parts. This fifth part is therefore especially a must for the die hard fans.
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This game tries to do a lot. It re-tells the story of the very first Final Fantasy, but is also an Origin story. It tries to pay homage to 35 years of FF games, but also provide a new experience. It wants to be a Souls game, but without the Souls difficulty, a hacker-slasher and a loot game. Against a backdrop of sub-par graphics, some choices work, some don't. The combat is pretty good, while the graphics, level design and story let down. This entry to the Final Fantasy multiverse won't be for the ages.
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Not that the races and activities served in the café are boring, but at some point you just want to race those hyper-luxury cars. Those who can bite through this will be presented with a beautiful racer with a huge amount of content in available cars, tracks and locations that are a pleasure to drive.
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Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is somewhere between reenacting historically accurate events and pure fiction. The characters seem to have run straight out of legends but, according to tradition, really existed. The different scenarios that you can re-enact also have their basis in Chinese history. It is amazing how well the strategy and action work together and influence each other.
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GRID Legends positions itself firmly between the pure arcade racers and the real racing SIMS and feels very comfortable there. The races are largely no-nonsense, but do not require in-depth knowledge under the hood. The racing itself is very satisfying and offers quite a few cars to race on a diverse number of tracks and locations. If expansion is desired anywhere, it is mainly there, in the number of locations.
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Two of the latest Uncharted games were brought to the PS5 (and later PC) with graphical improvements and DualSense support. Playing these games in 4K with HDR is a marvel. Sony has also finally figured out how to easily incorporate progress from the PS4 versions. However, the price structure is a mess and Sony really should sort that out, especially when the competition has made that so easy.
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The total package can rightly be called impressive. The sheer amount of content can be overwhelming for those who have yet to get started on Skyrim.
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Chorus seems to have everything. An exciting story about revenge and coming to terms with yourself, beautiful varied environments where there is more than enough to do and a combat system that is always refreshing and forces you to adjust the tactics.
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For the time being, we have to make do with the annual editions, where the game, especially due to the strange price construction and the lack of real innovation, unfortunately does not rise above mediocrity.
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Riders Republic is a worthy successor to both Steep and The Crew. This massive multiplayer sports game offers access to a beautiful area where players can go all out and hardly be put in the way.
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Demon Slayer is true to its source material, closely following the initial story arc and Mugen Train. The single-player story is short and never really taxes the player. The areas in between fights aren't inviting to explore as movement is slow and tasks obligatory. The roster of characters for online fights is small and partly locked behind the single-player storyline. In multiplayer, the fighting system blossoms, but it would have been great if the range of abilities was better used throughout the game.
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A Remaster to the letter, Diablo 2 Resurrected introduces a new graphic layer on top of the original Diablo game, which is still available at the touch of a button. The inclusion of the Legacy mode shows both the progression in graphics and the truthfulness to the original in gameplay. While there are some quality-of-life improvements, we would have preferred quite a few more. Resurrected is especially suited for the hardcore fans of the original, provided they can wait for online to be included.
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While Ni No Kuni II is already three years old, this Switch still feels new and refreshing. This is partly due to the timeless, cheerful story and the colourful drawing style. The port to the Switch can safely be called successful, with short loading times and excellent performance. The game itself is unabatedly charming and offers varied gameplay and including all the included DLC a nice total package that you can lose many hours in. Ni No Kuni II hasn't lost any of its charm and is now nice and easy to play. Recommended!
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Tales of Arise delivers a fresh start with new heroes and a world that feels all too familiar. The story of an oppressed people living in a land divided into five parts, that need to be liberated isn't quite original, but Arise does offer a streamlined experience that can be highly tailored. Those that want to, can delve into the lore, while others can happily skip that entirely. The same applies to combat, which can be tailored to the player's desire, from (semi)automatic to manual and challenging.
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A clever RPG that combines traditional turn-based gameplay with time manipulation to present an interesting story through many different locations. The story features some time-based puzzling and side-quests that make subtle (or less subtle) changes to the world around you. The random encounters and save points don't add to the fun of the game but in all, a quality, fun RPG.
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If you haven't tried The Falconeer on the Xbox yet, there is now a good reason to do so with the Warbird edition. Especially now that the game will also be released on PlayStation and Switch on August 6. The Falconeer has been part of the Xbox Game Pass since February.
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Dark Alliance can lean on an enormous amount of lore. Many locations, friends, and enemies make an appearance. the level design is pretty good and challenges to explore. However, the game is held back by bugs and battles that just do not work. The game has huge potential but sadly falls short in execution.
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The official game to the biggest sports event in the world offers an interesting variety of events to compete in, both online and offline. The controls are surprisingly varied and easy to pick up. The cartoony style might not be to anyone's taste, but the many customizations and wild outfits are a fun note.
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Scarlet Nexus turned out to be a lovely combination of quick gameplay and an intriguing story of betrayal, conflict on a large scale full of plot twists and surprises. The interactions between the team members contribute to both story and diverse gameplay. The side-missions however don't add anything and could've been removed completely.
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