The Games Machine
HomepageThe Games Machine's Reviews
It's not the return that longtime fans imagined, but it's a solid and modern experience, capable of entertaining despite a certain repetitiveness over the long term.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Ultimately, Styx: Blades of Greed is the kind of game that plays all of its cards and exhausts its best ideas in the opening hours, only to get bogged down in chronic repetition, dragging itself, unchanged, all the way to the end credits. Its inspired level design and the clever use of the lighting system act as a saving grace, but it's genuinely hard to turn a blind eye to the structural flaws of the enemy AI and a generally underwhelming level of difficulty.
Review in Italian | Read full review
When it was announced, I was a bit perplexed by this DLC, in the sense that I didn't really think it was necessary: Neva's story was self-contained and it worked perfectly well. Playing through it didn't clear my doubts: the scenarios are visually beatiful, but less inspired; the gameplay is alright, althought sometimes frustrating; and the story doesn't really have time to develop into anything. But on the flipside, it's a very cheap DLC and giving Nomada Studio money isn't really a bad thing in my book.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Quote not yet available
Review in Italian | Read full review
Cairn is, to date, one of the best gaming experiences I've ever played. Some mechanics need revisiting and polishing, but it's a video game full of love, which tells the story of human obsessions.
Review in Italian | Read full review
If there's one thing Tarsier Studios knows how to do, it's a horror-tinged co-op adventure. It may not be groundbreaking, but it's certainly a great way to spend eight hours with friends.
Review in Italian | Read full review
One of the best Mario Tennis games ever, packed with lots of characters, modes and options to satisfy even the most demanding players. The gameplay remains distinctly arcade-style and introduces some significant new features that make matches unpredictable and entertaining. In the post-launch period, Nintendo will need to work hard to better balance certain techniques and accessories that make certain challenges too easy.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The more I played Romeo is a Dead Man, the more I realized I was looking at the very definition of a merely decent game. The title developed by Grasshopper Manufacture is a formally competent action game, free of major flaws or obvious blemishes, yet entirely lacking in flair or interesting hooks. Beyond Suda51's signature madcap style, what remains is an "old school" video game that might entertain genre fans for fifteen hours or so, but never truly manages to excel. It is a shame about the optimization – or rather, the lack thereof.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Ride 6 is a lovely simcade that builds on its predecessors thanks to some new features that won't revolutionise the franchise. The good news is that the riding bit is as exciting as ever.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Quote not yet available
Review in Italian | Read full review
Quote not yet available
Review in Italian | Read full review
My Hero Academia: All's Justice, thanks to its story mode and the included roster, is certainly the most complete project dedicated to the franchise, even though it suffers from a difficulty level set too low.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is a more compact and aesthetically appealing game than the original. The redundant narrative elements of the original have been appropriately modified and, although the plot remains more than canonical and quite "cheesy," the cast remain among the best in the series. Characters progression and customization are more efficient, and the combat system, while remaining hyper-classic, is now faster and more immediate. The ability to scale the difficulty as desired is excellent, but the game still needs some post-launch balancing.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Quote not yet available
Review in Italian | Read full review
Even on PlayStation 5, Bye Sweet Carole performs admirably, with truly exciting artistic, narrative and musical direction.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Code Vein II could be described as a more accessible Elden Ring, and you wouldn't be wrong. But it would be a shame to stop at the obvious similarities and simplifications, because the game behind it is undoubtedly a great game. A little didactic in some choices, a little fanservice in others, but also capable of often touching the hearts of those on the other side of the screen.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Switch 2 isn't a revolution, but thanks also to the 3.0 update, it proves to be the most solid and accessible version of the game, ideal for veterans and newcomers.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on Switch 2 is a surprisingly ambitious conversion, successfully bringing one of the most spectacular JRPGs of recent years to the Nintendo platform without betraying its identity.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Quote not yet available
Review in Italian | Read full review
MIO: Memories in Orbit is a great metroidvania that I would have personally praised even more if it wasn't for its excessively cryptic exploration and for its trial & error platform sections. Still, absolutely a must pick if you're into the genre.
Review in Italian | Read full review