The Games Machine

Poison Control has some good ideas, but executed very superficially. An appealing but extremely simple game, its best merits are a good art direction and the hilarious writing. The rest is quite forgettable.

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Sometimes, less is more. Chronicle of Innsmouth: Mountains of Madness is a game that knows its limits and strives to do its best with the resources it has. The story is short, but well written and fascinating, the English acting is good and background illustrations are often inspiring. Considering that the team is small and so was the budget, their work deserves to be praised.

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With the launch of Yakuza 6: Song of Life, the saga of Kazuma Kiryu reaches its conclusion on PC and Xbox as well. The two years that passed since its launch on Sony consoles have provided it with technical improvements that, especially on PC, made the game's visuals more in line with the times. Compared to Yakuza 0, the combat is a bit on the stiffier side, but still satysfying, and Yakuza 6 is a worthy final chapter in a fifteen-year long narrative arc.

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Between ups and downs Forged in the Barrens is not completely convincing, but it's still an expansion useful for Hearthstone's growth. The meta must be fixed quickly to allow new mechanics and archetypes to come forward without fear.

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Giving Outriders a score is a tougher challenge than I thought. The core gameplay loop is fun, incredibly so when it clicks, the loot system is well thought out and wielding the powers of the Anomaly is power-tripping. But the game is also a slow burner, enemy variety is disappointingly poor, there is no scaling of content for party members of lower levels, and audio and animations aren't always that great. But the core is good, and we have faith that People Can Fly will polish those rough edges.

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Hammer & Ravens developers have been brave and they got several good intuitions, even if the balance problems make the management component less engaging and the graphic style makes the tower defence not too sexy. The main character is a blast though.

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I had so much fun playing Kaze and the Wild Makes. Fast, colorful, easy to play if you just want to see the end, and absolutely challenging if you try to fully complete it unlocking every secret. The gameplay is not that innovative, and sometimes borrows heavily from the classics, but the result is an undeniably competent game. If you like platformers, there is no reason in the world not to try it. Highly recommended.

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There's no doubt Arboria is an interesting rogue lite, but perhaps it was been published at the wrong time, in a market really overcrowded by games of the same type. The game offers captivating graphics, the original setting and the robust combat system, as well as the interesting character skill tree have but also lacks variety, which combined with the abscence of side quests tends to make every run look the same. I still enjoyed, although the long waiting times between one run and the next are a poor fit for the genre.

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DOOM 3 is the ideal choice for virtual reality and its environments have never felt so vivid. The game remains an old school shooter, however the main campaign and the two expansions will give you a great reason to dust off your Aim controller. This adaptation is not perfect, but we should count our blessings.

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Narita Boy is an extremely competent 2D platformer. The guys from Studio Koba have succeeded in the uneasy task of giving a unique personality to a video game whose basic mechanics could sometimes appear derivative.

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Evil Genius 2: World Domination is a competent sequel, even if it remains inferior in several respects to its direct predecessor. The gameplay formula has been modernized, but some features that made the first chapter a cult classic have been inexplicably removed. A shame because otherwise we would have had a real masterpiece in our hands, but several shortcomings and smudges make it "only" a good video game.

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Colorful, frantic, and with plent of weapons at our disposal, Bloodroots is a nice surpirse that will certainly appeal to those who enjoy the kind of one-hit-kill action Hotline Miami offered.

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Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 was already an excellent package on last gen consoles; the next gen hardware allows it to shine even brighter.

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Spacebase Startopia is a next-generation reboot of an amazing, 20-years old sci-fi strategy game, with the same approach to gameplay but a fairly renewed graphics style, perfectly fitting the funny dark humour that pervades our star bases. It's incredible how Spacebase Startopia manages to look modern even today: further proof that good ideas never get old.

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With the complete picture now available, The Ancient Gods Part 2 can only be considered a small misstep by id Software. Short and lacking interesting enemies, the second DLC of DOOM Eternal doesn't offer enough to justify its price. If you are interested in learning what happens to the Slayer after the end of the base game's campaign, you're better off waiting for a nice discount.

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Crash 4 is an excellent purchase for all those PC players who really want to put themselves to the test with a tough-as-nails platformer. Toys for Bob proved once again to be a solid fit for the franchise, expertly following in the tracks of Naughty Dog while adding their own to the mix. Definitely give it a chance, and don't be discouraged by its difficulty – we've all been through it.

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It Takes Two is absolutely stellar. Extremely varied, never boring, fun and exciting to play, incredibly pretty and with great character writing. If you enjoy cooperative play, you owe it to yourself to play it.

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While Paradise Lost has everything to be a great game, it ends up being just good. Its background story is strong and intriguing, but you can't feel it that much in the game. Locations and objects are well crafted, but invisible walls keep you from feeling them as if they were real and alive. Everything is in his place, but by the end nothing leaves you wanting more. This four-hour adventure is worth playing, but it won't change your life.

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After playing Adios I felt like I did when I first saw No country for old men, and I can't imagine a greater compliment. Graphics are definitely not its strongest suit, but they do a decent job at supporting Adios' touching story, that shines thanks to its fantastic voice acting. A couple simple minigames add a little variety to this walking simulator. All in all, Adios lasts a little more than an hour, but it's an hour that is totally worth experiencing.

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Monster Hunter Rise marks the beginning of a new era for the series' pocket adventures, finally free from the antiquated mechanics that the previous chapter, Generations Ultimate, brought with it.

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