Black Sea Games had the self-proclaimed goal of making an accessible grand strategy game. And they did succeed. Knights of Honor II - Sovereign does many things right by leaving out complexity that makes games from e.g. Paradox Games very hard to start. Besides this obvious strength the game stays very close to its 2004 predecessor and doesn't change much. This isn't a bad thing but a bit more bravery wouldn't have hurt. Juggling diplomacy, economics, military and the clergy makes for an immersive and fun experience. Besides the real-time battles that leave much desired Knights of Honor II doesn't make any big mistakes and is a very solid bridge between Medieval: Total War and Games like Europa Universalis or Crusader Kings.
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If you like hack 'n' slay games like DMC or Bayonetta in the slightest and are not appalled by the artstyle and the music you have to get Hi-Fi Rush. The game oozes fun, has a great presentation and follows it's central design ideas throughout the game. All in all Tango Gameworks convinces with its first non horror game and delivers the first surprise hit in 2023. Also petting Robo-cats never gets old.
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The remake Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe shines as an easy accessible couch co-op multiplayer title. As a singleplayer game it sadly lacks challenging parts and gameplay diversity. The technical improvements to the Wii title and the new epilogue are nice to have but don't justify the price tag of 59.99€ at release. Kirby Fans who already own the original game should think twice beforce buying.
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The Settlers - New Allies tried to make a city building and RTS hybrid. Sadly it doesn't deliver on both ends. The clunky RTS Parts and the low complexity of the building parts don't fulfill the high expectations of the big name "The Settlers". The great graphical presentation with fitting sound design are not enough to outshine the very slow gameplay and the monotonous campaign/story. Only sometimes old virtues shine through which is sadly not enough to satisfy fans that longed for a new "real" Settlers game.
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Platinum Games delivered a beautiful fairy tale for both Bayonetta fans and non-fans. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon's presentation is graphically and acoustically a treat. The Twin Stick puzzle gimmick and the implicit couch co-op combined with great story pacing makes for a good game outside of Platinum Games realm of all-out action games.
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Storywise Arkane Austin nails their presentation about the vampire infested small village Redfall. Graphic and audio design are very fitting with B-Movie flair. Sadly the game doesn't deliver that many highlights besides very basic open-world co-op shooter gameplay. Even though, four different classes, a small skilltree and several weaponoptions are provided the gameplay loop doesn't get much more than shooting at everything that moves. Using gamepass or waiting for a sale is recommended.
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Street Fighter 6 does many things right that V didn't. World Tour delivers on many small details for fans, especially in the overall creation of your own character. Sadly though, the quest design isn't really engaging and there aren't that many story interactions. The open world potential clearly isn't used and leaves much to be desired. Luckily the gameplay itself when it comes to fighting as well as the character's (re)designs are on point. Thanks to the rollback netcode the online multiplayer works like a charm
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Park Beyond from Limbic Entertainment offers a fun, easily accessible theme park simulator experience that has its strengths mostly in its sandbox mode and in building wacky rollercoasters. The short campaign offers a good learning curve but delivers only a very thin story. Sadly technical issues on PC and sometimes a lack of variation (e.g. only three coaster types!) tarnish the otherwise solid game. We hope that these issues will be adressed in the near future.
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Phantom Liberty adds a thrilling story and the new area Dogtown to Cyberpunk 2077. The add-on and the 2.0 update really justify hopping back into night city. Although, there's still potential within CP2077 that can be unraveled, Phantom Liberty is definitely worth a try.
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NetherRealm Studios plays it safe. The Reboot resets the story via a multiverse approach. From a gameplay perspective MK1 brings a classic Mortal Kombat experience with no experiments. Besides the abyssmal Switch port, there aren't any major hiccups technical wise.
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Forza Motorsport keeps the pace of its predecessors but can't overtake it. A big collection of photorealistic cars to drive with, with a plentora of settings to tune their performance on twenty different tracks sounds promising as always. Unsurprisingly this formula still works like a charm. Sadly, the carreer mode lacks a tutorial, a story, rivalries or anything else tuning and driving. This severe lack of atmosphere doesn't fit a otherwise great and polished game like Forza.
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Cities Skylines 2 improves on the beloved first part of the series. While it misses scenarios and dedicated tutorial missions, it captivates from the first minute on with the premise of building your own dream city and optimizing all the little details. Be aware though, that even with high end hardware the performance is abyssmal. But Colossal Order already promised to deliver performance improving patches and an early WIP patch we could use made the situation way better already. With the performance upgrade and the yet to come mods from the community, this game will surely be the new frontrunner of city building games.
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Roboquest is a fun roguelite FPS that motivates to pick it up for "just one more round". Tight controls, intense gameplay, secrets and lots of different guns, perks and six classes more than make up for the a little bit lacking enemy and level design.
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Tekken 8's presentation is brilliant and complements the intense, more offense-oriented gameplay perfectly. Another highlight is how the game tries to introduce beginners into Tekken and gives them several tools for self-improvement, like the replay tips. On the flipside, this support doesn't include intermediates which is a missed chance. Also, the single player modes are quite short. Overall Tekken 8 still takes our place as best fighting game of the current gen as the gameplay and presentation are superb.
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All together in combination with the direct controls you get a lot of fun with a "one more run" spiral, what you would expect from a roguelike. Sadly the confusing story and less integration from the excellent Blazblue Cast brings the whole game down a bit. It is not the next Hades or Dead Cells but fans of the genre will still have a lot of fun with it.
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Contra: Operation Galuga restores the series to its former glory. Expect old-school gameplay with a steep difficulty curve and only a few innovations. Multiple modes and up to four player co-op top off a solid remake.
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In conclusion, the Alone in the Dark Remake offers a compelling blend of detective intrigue, film noir atmosphere, and horror elements. While the narrative, graphics, and sound design excel in creating an immersive experience, shortcomings in gameplay mechanics, particularly in combat and stealth sequences, detract from its overall impact.
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Princess Peach: Showtime! delivers surprising variety in gameplay and shows Peach in several roles like cowgirl, ninja or mermaid. Even though the game lacks in difficulty and replayability the target audience of younger and predominantly female gamers will find an entertaining Jump'n'Run with Nintendo's most prominent Princess. Everyone else gets a easy to digest game for short timeframes like a bus ride.
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South Park Snow Day doesn't deliver on any level. The typical humour isn't enough because the game just isn't fun at all, in every area. Also Co-Op can't rescue the generic fighting and killing because of the missing challenge. Even die-hard South Park Fans, should think twice if they want to waste 30€ on this.
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