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A faithful remaster of a PS2 classic, Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny brings back the brooding atmosphere and layered storytelling fans remember. The improved resolution and new QoL features are welcome, but the lack of real enhancements or modern refinements holds it back. While Jubei's journey remains compelling and replayability is high thanks to branching paths, the dated combat and stiff controls may deter newcomers. Longtime fans will appreciate the nostalgia, but this feels more like preservation than revival.
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Blades of Fire alternates very good mechanics (the forge and the combat system) with less successful ones (characterization, narrative and game world). It is well playable and fun, but it has the feeling of a wasted opportunity.
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Once the initial enthusiasm for the dual wielding weapon and the three warriors has waned, run after run the flaws of Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade become more and more evident and allow excessive repetitiveness to take over.
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RoadCraft aims for a specific target – that is, people who find heavy machinery unbelievably cool – and hit it straight in the middle, granting dozens of hours of playtime spent paving roads and using cranes. It could use some work on the interface, though.
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For players who choose to give it a chance, just one piece of advice: 100 days may seem like a lot, but you will often return to the walls of the Last Defense Academy. Perhaps more often than you might think.
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At the moment, it seems more like a collection for nostalgics and collectors than a platform on which to build a new online scene, but Capcom has shown that it knows how to listen to the complaints of fans and who knows, maybe Capcom vs. SNK 2 could free itself from the chains of that wicked revision very soon .
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An action cop game that winks at Miami Vice, Hill Street and other historical detective series from the 80s. The game structure is interesting, the chases intense and challenging and the tasks to be performed quite varied, but in the long run repetitiveness makes itself felt and a few technical glitches break the magic. Technically we are close to average, but a few corrections are needed to put right the less than perfect fluidity and a few too many glitches.
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Despelote is an emotional leap into childhood, among soccer balls, dreams and nostalgia. As little Julián, we relive the excitement of 2001 in Quito as Ecuador, in the midst of an economic crisis, dreams of World Cup qualification. The game blends deliberately retro digital photography, hand drawings, and ambient sound design to render a touching and well-directed autobiographical tale. Part of the gameplay includes Tino Tini's Soccer 99, a purposefully crude demake of Kick Off that perfectly reflects the nostalgic and messy tone of childhood. It lasts a bare couple of hours, but will stay with you much longer.
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Doom: The Dark Ages is an exciting evolution of the franchise, capable of surprising with its more structured narrative approach and gameplay innovations, without losing the brutal and metallic identity that has always distinguished the saga.
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Spirit of the North 2 takes the contemplative experience of the first chapter and expands it into a larger open world full of biomes and secrets. Combat, quests and inventory are excellently replaced by exploration, environmental puzzles and outstanding art direction. The main new feature is the introduction of the raven, able to give wings to the fox, just like a famous beverage. The only minuses: an automatic jumping system that is sometimes unpredictable and a camera that is not always accurate. A poetic title, visually gorgeous, but with some glitches in the gameplay.
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Lushfoil Photography Sim is a very interesting photo-camping simulator. Well done in the mechanics related to the reflex parameters, as in the creation of the game maps.
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More solid, more varied and sillier than ever, GORN 2 is the sequel that anyone who loved the first chapter must play. It doesn't invent anything new, it simply perfects and enriches every ingredient of the recipe that made its predecessor a cult. And that's fine.
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A sci-fi adventure characterised by light tones and fresh gameplay, capable of providing satisfaction... as long as you are a curious gamer. Curiosity is essential to fully appreciate the multifaceted exploration component of Revenge of the Savage Planet and discover all its secrets. If No Man's Sky and Outer Wilds had had a relationship, this would have been their legitimate child.
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Drop Duchy mixes Tetris, deckbuilding and roguelite in a hybrid that is surprising for the fluidity of its gameplay. It can be frustrating at times, but the challenge progression system helps you give yourself one last run. And the very last one. And the very very last one.
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With a strong narrative and investigative component, the game puts us behind the bar, mixing cocktails and confidences. Twenty-two characters, each with their own personality, branched dialogues, a noir atmosphere and an inspired artistic direction make the experience deep and engaging.
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A 'puzzle platformer' with a strong personality, an excellent cast and an intriguing story. In terms of gameplay, there is no shortage of ideas, but the game's potential is almost totally destroyed by a large number of bugs and glitches that 'dirty' the gaming experience, making it MUCH more complicated than it should have been.
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A great motorcycle simulation with a great new arcade mode.
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The gameplay blends creative movement and tense combat, with additional challenges to eliminate all enemies, avoid damage and complete the levels within time limits. Minimalist graphics, an adrenaline-filled soundtrack and an integrated level editor complete an experience designed for fans of technical and hardcore platformers.
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StarVaders is a really fun and solid deckbuilder, it is well made from many points of view. Even if it has room for improvement, it deserves to sit at the same table as the best "videodrugames".
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Keeping the original structure intact, Days Gone returns to PlayStation 5 in a version that - thanks also to an appealing price tag - stands out as a purchase well worth considering for open-world enthusiasts. Visually polished, lengthy without becoming tiresome, and quite entertaining, it also features a range of new game modes alongside the main adventure that add variety. The epic tale of Deacon St. John still fully deserves high praise today.
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