The Mobius Machine is, at its core, a decent metroidvania hampered by the disproportion between the enormous size of its map and the low variety of scenarios, discoveries, rewards, and even resources that help revisit the world more efficiently. Those who like challenges will have something to find here, but for the rest, the real challenge will be to maintain interest and patience.
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With its well-executed retro personality, Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan is a 2D platforming adventure with plenty of challenges and items to find. The protagonist could be a little more agile, but in general, the game fulfills its role of revisiting styles of the past and improving them.
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Promenade was an enjoyable ride from start to finish, keeping me hooked until I finally managed to find all of the many cogs. The caveats are minimal, overshadowed by the excellent execution that provides so much content for the fun and engagement of different ages and abilities.
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qomp2's peculiar movement scheme is, at the same time, its biggest differentiator as a puzzle and platformer, but also a possible source of frustration. With coherent mechanics, but little varied visuals and a creative potential that is not explored as it could be, it is a title that will please lovers of the genre while it lasts, as long as they do not expect something striking or surprising.
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Hidden Through Time 2: Myth & Magic brings a more of the same comfortable and fun hidden object search. I missed the aesthetic evolution, but the ambition was invested in the Architect mode for the creation and sharing of new levels, greatly increasing the possibilities of enjoying this lovely and relaxing game that, even if it is for only one player, can be enjoyed with the whole family.
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With Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Ubisoft Montpellier used the solid terrain of the metroidvania legacy to bring new air to the classic series. Even without innovating, the game is built with the good parts of the genre, a confident and excellently executed combination that takes us to a robust, fun and challenging campaign, making it a highlight as one of the best of its kind.
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Fulfilling the promise of elaborate traditional animations, Cookie Cutter aims at the target of the metroidvania formula without the intention of innovating it. It's a precise, debauched and bloody hit, without a doubt, but it still leaves the feeling that the adventure and the songs are not in the same rebellious tone as the vigorous personality displayed by the protagonist in her fluid and brutal movements.
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Even with generic settings and simple controls, Raccoo Venture has a lot of the DNA that is crucial for a good 3D platformer, especially in the level design, secrets, animations, and music. The problem lies in the difficulty that will lead to unnecessary and frustrating repetitions, which can make the game more of a challenge of patience than of platforming. Changing simple things, such as the rules of counting lives, would make the experience much more pleasurable and accessible.
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Even with some mechanics that make gameplay more difficult, Laika: Aged Through Blood leaves a trail of intense emotions as you maneuver a motorcycle through the desert against a relentless army. The contrast between the raw violence and the beauty of the designed scenarios and, especially, the songs with vocals, converges to the representation of human tragedies in the fight for survival in this unique, bloody and beautifully melancholic metroidvania.
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Rising Dusk treads its own 2D platformer beats with a fresh perspective on the collectible coins that have populated the genre for decades. The execution is as good as the idea, and the concept of “anti-currencies” is used to create intuitive puzzles and replayability through secrets, secondary paths and alternative exits. The visuals may not attract attention, but the lo-fi songs take a calming beat to drive a campaign with a flexible structure that will please fans of 2D games.
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Even if it's still limited by trends in the genre, Roots of Pacha builds a farming simulator with its own personality by centering the theme of community in its upbeat and relaxing campaign. Unfortunately, this didn't extend to multiplayer, which is online-only and doesn't allow you to share the screen locally with the loved ones who are next to you.
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The Last Faith enters the ambivalence of familiarity: while it delivers on its promise to blend metroidvania and soulslike competently, it never surprises or innovates. The campaign is challenging, but its good pace of shortcuts, fast travel points, and leveling up propels us to advance further and further through the melancholy world of beautifully detailed gothic pixel art.
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Worldless is visually stunning and enchanted me in its first few hours, but the sudden increase in complexity in the final third and the requirement for precise timing to advance in the main battles took away my desire to continue. When I consider the imprecise map, the lack of fast travel and the slow and empty crossings when revisiting certain sections, I think I can only recommend it to the patient or the skilled, as, unfortunately, frustration has several times taken me out of the spell in which the beautiful atmosphere enveloped me time after time.
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The Talos Principle 2 is a masterpiece that ventures into puzzles and the philosophical universe of deep questions. Although it is aimed at an audience that seeks exciting, challenging and honest intellectual stimuli, this is a less intimidating experience than it may seem, thanks to the flexibility to advance in the campaign and the certainty that each puzzle already brings with it everything necessary to solve it. Few games have given me so much satisfaction with the beauty of seeing it all connect and finally unravel the riddle before me, making me rush right to the next one. This is one of the best games of 2023 and I'm glad it exists.
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During its best moments, Jusant is simultaneously beautiful, memorable and deep. The short adventure brings few new mechanics beyond the initial ones but it's exactly this brevity that makes it not an issue and avoids pushing the game down into monotony. Climbing the Tower is a narrative progress that further compelled me to find out what was on the top; I must say I left this adventure satisfied and moved.
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Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery aims to entertain and make you laugh in a light and silly way, with no intention of surprising or challenging with its investigation mechanics. The focus is all on the absurd narrative, really funny for those who like this type of naive comedy with eccentric characters, which should especially appeal to children. The package compiles the three cases and brings a scooter minigame that can be fun for a while, but not much. The new feature of the console version is the Brazilian Portuguese localization, present on all platforms.
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Ebenezer and the Invisible World enchants with its drawn visuals and fantastic narrative, being above the average metroidvanias in these two aspects, but the same cannot be said of other fields. The fights are lukewarm and the map design can be off-putting with backtracking and the small print annoying. Those who like the graphic style, Victorian stories, and A Christmas Carol will have a lot to appreciate here, which can make up for the perception that the gameplay is average and doesn't stand out in the genre.
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I hope we see more games along the lines of careful remakes, attentive to detail and refreshing as happened with Star Ocean: The Second Story R. Even without matching the visual standards of the most recent AAA games, the recreation choices hit the nail on the head in ways to value everything that the original already had that was good and adjusts the problems, even if it doesn't perform miracles with the chaotic combat.
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Mail Time is a brief and lovely game for anyone who wants the tranquil experience of scouring a small open world while engaging with fun characters and doing favors. Although it gives the feeling that it could be more and lacks polish in some areas, the tale of the young wallet's first day of work is interesting and playful. It's like a picture book that you can jump into, glide and enjoy a relaxing pace.
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Life of Delta is an efficient and charismatic point and click adventure in its simplicity. The lean context helps maintain the rhythm of the tale of a robot who wants to save his friend and the beautiful painted scenes do a good job of bringing the player closer to the world of Delta, but don't expect mysteries, twists and explanations of the story of this post-modern apocalyptic dystopia. Just enjoy the puzzles and move forward in the metallic skin of the tiny and very human service robot.
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