The Games Machine

A remarkable sequel to one of the best Metroidvania ever made. Despite some minor flaws, Axiom Verge 2 represents a new building block in the fascinating and growing universe crafted by Thomas Happ. Can't wait for the next chapter.

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Incredible attention to detail, an impressive physics model and a focus on the bike maintenance make RIMS Racing a strong first entry for a new IP; however, the erratic AI and self-harming design choices reduce the overall enjoyment of the game. Also, day one DLCs are never a good look.

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The very existence of Psychonauts 2 demonstrates that good ideas have to overcome a thousand difficulties before being realized, but in the end they somehow impose themselves. It took years for the first chapter to overcome people's skepticism but, day after day, it has built up a fan base so large that we were finally able to play with a full-fledged, high budget sequel. And it's beautiful. Pleasant, original, colorful, compelling. Do you need more adjectives to be convinced?

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Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a valid cooperative shooter, one where you can just drop in and shoot stuff with glee, or put your coordination and teamplay to the test if you're looking for a challenge. There are friendly AIs, but they aren't great and solo play only works at the lower difficulties. Finally, while the game is competent and fun, it also shows its low budget.

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King's Bounty II is a decent turn-based RPG, but it's also one of the most derivative games out there.

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A year later, Ghost of Tsushima is still a great game, and this Director's Cut is the definitive version, especially if you own a PlayStation 5. It's a great experience, but it's mainly for newcomers: the improvements are welcome, but hardly enough to tempt veterans of the original.

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Road 96 is a nice revelation. The slow start gives the wrong impression of a game similar to many recent narrative adventures: well written, but without that peculiar something that can make it shine. Instead, its formula based on the repetition of the paths and on the procedurality of the encounters proved to be a great strength in the long run, capable of adding depth to the game and distinguishing it from its (valid) predecessors. More than this, it's the perfect game for summertime: a good song on the radio, the long road ahead of us, sunglasses on and a future where plenty of choices await.

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Sadly, Humankind isn't Amplitude Studios' magnum opus. Its interesting concept of civilization mix-matching is constantly let down by an uncompetitive AI and all sort of balancing issues.

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One of the most intriguing action-platform of the year. Greak: Memories of Azur is artistically gorgeous and its gameplay is simple but engaging.

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Foreclosed manages to condense in a single game a decent shooter, a basic role-playing game and, why not, even a bit of science fiction thriller, which doesn't hurt. The problem, however, is who exactly this game is meant for: it is too light as an FPS, too basic as an RPG, and the puzzles aren't deep enough for an adventure. It needs someone who wants to simply live a cyberpunk experience, as long as your expectations aren't set too high.

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Hades on PlayStation 5 is the essential masterpiece we all know, embellished by the 4K resolution and a mild use of the features of DualSense. A real must-have.

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The underlying gameplay is still so brilliant that it is painful to see it brought it down by obtuse and ancient systems that make the overall experience frustrating.

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Solid, no-nonsense roguelike with a comparatively rare sci-fi setting. Too bad it doesn't deliver the badass power fantasy that its inspiring material source (Doom) does so well.

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Boomerang X is a frantic and challenging arena shooter made to satisfy the needs of those interested in speedrunning the game or unlocking every single one of its achievements.

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Orcs Must Die! 3 does not innovate significantly – some might even call it lazy – but is an effective recollection of everything that made Robot Entertainment's franchise so great in the past, turned up to eleven.

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Vesper at first glance might seem like a Limbo with robots, it's actually a platformer puzzler with a really successful splash of stealth. Equipped with an artistic sector of great personality, thanks to the numerous checkpoints it can be faced in a casual way, a couple of screens at a time, or all in one breath in speed run mode, thanks also to the official stopwatch ready to witness your feat without the need for editing.

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The Silver Case and The 25th Ward are both testament to the talent of one of the most picturesque, brilliant and punk directors of the videogame scene, capable of amalgamating, no one knows how, a series of themes, influences, styles and characters that in the hands of others would have turned into a disaster.

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The Ascent is a fast-paced twin-stick shooter immersed in an impeccably designed cyberpunk world, yet its plot fails to fully take advantage of this wonderful setting. Luckily, the shooting mechanics are quite satisfying, while the many different character customization options guarantee a fair range of approaches to the shootouts. There are also a bunch of technical issues that can be easily circumvented, but are still annoying.

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Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a role-playing game focused on storytelling and combat, cutting out usually fundamental elements like exploration: an atypical but successful recipe, drawing strength from a cast of young heroes that are impossible not to love.

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Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector is a solid turn-based tactical game, but also quite generic. That's because the developers did almost nothing to differentiate their game from other titles in the same genre. Recommended if you're a WH40K enthusiast, but demanding turn-based tactics fans might want to look somewhere else.

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