Gaming-Village's Reviews
A Plague Tale: Requiem is a solid sequel of the stealth-action-adventure that elaborates on existing gameplay further without surprising with revolutionary innovations.
Review in German | Read full review
I liked Asterigos very much overall; the trailer appealed to me greatly in terms of style, and fortunately, the game did not disappoint. The various difficulty levels, the mix of action-adventure and soulslike, the battle against one's own sense of orientation, and some beautifully made boss fights will remain with me in pleasant memory [...]
Review in German | Read full review
Airoheart is a decent Zelda-like clone, but it struggles significantly with navigation, suffers from technical rough edges, and unfortunately brings very few fresh ideas to the table. Anyone looking for an indie experience in the style of classic Zelda games is arguably better served by the two Ittle Dew titles, the two Blossom Tales games, or Oceanhorn. It’s a shame, because the initial impression from screenshots and videos was quite solid.
Review in German | Read full review
Aquadine is a very successful debut from SoftColors. The characters—and especially the world—are well developed, and the cast has a lot of charm and humor. At times, however, their impact may weaken slightly due to repetition. The atmospheric and varied musical score more than makes up for this. Still, it is also a rather sad story, dealing with Torrie’s serious illness, fears about the future, and at times even doubts about the value of one’s own existence. Yet friendships and family can provide a great deal of support, especially when the characters are not too convinced that they must handle everything on their own. Overall, I had a great deal of fun accompanying the girls on their journey and watching them grow up.
Review in German | Read full review
AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative entertained me just as much as its predecessor. I also mostly enjoyed the humor, even if its often sexual direction will definitely not be for everyone. Some scenes, as mentioned above, are deliberately over-the-top and absurd. I personally like that the game and its characters often lean into a light, and perhaps for some players overly exaggerated, tone. The mystery remains unclear for a long time, with only individual pieces being solved before most of it eventually comes together. The fact that I did not fully understand every detail myself is, in the overall context, not something I would count as a criticism. The structure with its different routes can also occasionally lead to some confusion. During the Psync segments, I often had to experiment a bit, and sometimes I ran out of time—but I found that unproblematic. Once you focus on the known correct interactions and use the skip function, you can quickly return to the point where you previously failed. Anyone who enjoys a mysterious case with puzzles that do not require excessive brain strain should definitely consider taking a look at AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative, provided they can handle—or even appreciate—its exaggerated tone and humor. I look back on it with mixed feelings: one half because I was well entertained, the other because it’s already over, even though it certainly wasn’t lacking in content. I would gladly see more entries in the series.
Review in German | Read full review
All a bit of everything, but nothing really noteworthy. That could outline my conclusion on A Memoir Blue in one sentence, because unfortunately the game couldn't convince me. The gameplay and narrative do work, but they only scratch the surface of respectively possible potential.
Review in German | Read full review
The survival game has some really interesting ideas and attempts to package its complex mechanics very simply. With a slightly better learning curve, the game would function somewhat better, although random factors as well as an illusory freedom of decision dilute the gameplay very strongly. Yet the numerous bugs and quirks that the game offered during my playthroughs turned the low fun into its complete opposite.
Review in German | Read full review
Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream offers an entertaining experience again without a major focus on the story. Instead, it shines with a complex synthesis system in which one can comfortably lose oneself for hours in total.
Review in German | Read full review
Even though stealth games are not among my favourites, I still found Aragami: Shadow Edition quite entertaining. I chose a rather brutal approach: waiting for enemy movement patterns, warping between nearby shadows and striking, hiding the bodies again, and returning to the darkness. If a guard became alerted, I would eliminate them with an ability and make them disappear as well. The fact that enemies show no concern for missing people or bloodstains? Well, for me that was secondary—the fun came first. I also liked the idea of displaying shadow energy and selected abilities through markings on the character’s cloak. With a mostly slow and cautious playstyle, I was able to progress through the game quite comfortably. Of course, this does make the pacing suffer somewhat. At times, I also would have preferred more generous checkpoints. In the Nightfall campaign, I had to abandon my approach of eliminating as many enemies as possible, as the difficulty became too high for that style of play. Additional challenge is provided by the third difficulty level and optional medals. Unfortunately, performance issues slightly detract from the experience. I would also have preferred full voice acting, as it would have supported the atmosphere better. At times, it is also not entirely clear why certain areas—such as rooftops—cannot be reached, even though they appear to be within range and sufficiently shadowed.
Review in German | Read full review
As it turned out for me, AI: The Somnium Files is not the psycho-splatter experience I had initially imagined in my mind. There are a few moments that gave me a slight feeling of nausea, but overall that is negligible. Instead, alongside the tension and oppressive scenes, there is also plenty of humor, a fair amount of absurdity, and quite a lot of sexual thoughts—especially from the protagonist. Overall, I felt well entertained.
Review in German | Read full review
A Plague Tale: Innocence is a quite entertaining roughly ten-hour journey in plague- and rat-infested medieval times. The stealth system and level design as well as enemy distribution are mostly forgiving enough that even for people with less patience or talent for stealth, it does not constitute a significant obstacle.
Review in German | Read full review
In many places, the love for detail is perceptible, the visuals are good, and the silky-smooth, playful idea makes you want more. Yet I must also state that at the same time it is not a good game. The simple concept is rarely fully explored; instead, A Juggler's Tale hangs itself narratively and gameplay-wise on a silk thread, which only very rarely stands under tension.
Review in German | Read full review
Astria Ascending is a lovingly staged JRPG that tells an interesting story in the cutscenes. The interactive game sections, however, unfortunately repeatedly interrupt the narrative flow, which can be somewhat frustrating. The controls and combat system are solid and reflect that the developers understand how a classic JRPG is supposed to feel.
Review in German | Read full review
Overall, art of rally offers a wide variety of tracks and cars that become faster with each group. The game is well suited for beginners but also provides sufficient opportunities to improve oneself.
Review in German | Read full review
Principally, A Monster's Expedition is a very cleverly designed game which extracts an immense amount from its basic mechanic. Furthermore, for persons seeking a head-heavy challenge, some island puzzles are a true feast. The atmosphere, whether through humorous comments on humanity or meditative music, is also very pleasant and calm. Unfortunately, the game's pacing does not work. The museum is at home on too many islands, and soon a repetition of the always identical gameplay loop sets in. Since from this phase on the main path of the game the difficulty stagnates and the puzzle design offers no great variety, much idle time and monotony are the result.
Review in German | Read full review
Overall, Astro's Playroom is a rather short but consistently entertaining platformer with creative level design, many fun gimmicks with the DualSense controller, and a sympathetic presentation. In my opinion, Sony could have placed the game on the shelves as a budget title without any changes and still created a must-buy for the console launch.
Review in German | Read full review
This certainly made the experience more enjoyable, but I never fully warmed up to how heavily I had to rely on target tracking against moving enemies, especially since many opponents simply seemed far more maneuverable than my own aircraft. The story mode is also not particularly long. After finishing the game, the total recorded flight time was around nine hours, although that figure also included an abandoned run on Normal difficulty as well as a few free missions.
Review in German | Read full review
Even though I had to hold back with the alchemy system to avoid being significantly too strong, and the story isn't truly gripping, I liked the game overall. Through the possible chaining of various attacks and the block function, the combat system feels more active than in the predecessor [...]
Review in German | Read full review
A Hat in Time is an entertaining 3D Jump & Run with good level design, but partly weak mission design. A special praise deserves the idea of the dive jump, which can be interrupted in mid-air and ensures a great gameplay feeling in more demanding jumping scenes. On the other hand, the game suffers from a very unpleasant camera guidance and especially on the Switch from a doubtful optimization for the console.
Review in German | Read full review