The Games Machine

Volgarr the Viking II is not so much a definite step forward from the first chapter as a refinement of mechanics and level design. The challenge is always very high and the limited number of credits before 'screwing up' the game is a rather unpleasant idea, but if you're looking for the atmosphere that made classics like Rastan great it might be the game for you, provided you have as much patience as your joypad skills.

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While the effort that went into creating Mars 2120 can certainly be praised, this is not the kind of game that you would easily recommend to friends. It's never bad or outright awful, mind you, and playing it is a fairly easy-going experience. But at the same time, low enemy variety, poor bosses, generic story and uneven optimization means that this game will stay very far from the top of the charts.

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Arranger: A Role-puzzling Adventure is a beautifully crafted concept game, short, intense, full of ideas and too much fun, both for the fingers and the brain. A beautiful story (with a very likeable protagonist, like all the other characters), simple, direct, told with irony but with a strong and clear message towards our world, a high-level puzzle design and the awareness of finishing when the ideas run out. A convincing first work, with a summery, sunny mood; certainly one of the most original experiences of the year!

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Shift 87 is a walking simulator that hybridizes within it an unsuccessful loop mechanic regarding the reporting of any anomalies. The basic idea is interesting, but it's a shame that continuing through the maps is extremely difficult, also due to the various bugs.

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An action-platformer that revives the flames of a genre that disappeared for almost two decades. Abathor isn't a perfect title and doesn't invent anything new, but it does what it has to in a balanced and polite manner, with an entertaining co-op mode capable of attract players of all ages.

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Creative Assembly has been working hard in these months and results are pretty clear: the innovations in Dynasties bring well implemented improvements that help modernise the campaign.

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Thank Goodness You're Here! It is a fantastic story of great depth, written and structured with lucidity and liveliness. It brings so much to the table that may be little known to those who just intend to play without too much ceremony, but who may find one of the hottest video games of this summer, in the same way that Slay the Princess was almost a year ago. For those who are already familiar with the misfortunes of the world, well... He may be at his home. With me it was like that.

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CYGNI: All Guns Blazing aims to be a vertical-scrolling shoot'em up tied to the old traditions of the genre, taking advantage of what hardware has made possible over the last four decades. It has hit the mark, including everything that is to be expected in works of this type, without wanting to add anything else. The result is the closest thing to a coin-op we could find in a parallel universe in which arcades have not known oblivion. Fast-paced, colorful, pyrotechnic, punishing, and capable of making everyone realize that shmups can still provide a lot of fun.

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SteamWorld Heist 2 immediately captivated me for its light-hearted tone and for the fact that it offers considerable tactical depth without being punishing in its approach. On the contrary, the developers seem to say "Come on, try this thing too, you have nothing to lose anyway!". The management of the difficulty level and the structures of the missions do the rest, while it is only a partial lack of variety of enemies that prevents Thunderful Development's game from achieving excellence.

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Minds Beneath Us is a very peculiar graphic adventure with few puzzles and lots of dialogue. Its strength is the connection it manages to create between the narrative cue and what it requires of the player. The reward for the patience required is a game with an eerie atmosphere that is hard to find elsewhere.

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Immersive, deep and immersive... oh well, sorry for the sketch, Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss is a pleasant and detailed story that starts with the aim of detailing a painful story, made up of the various crew members, who have interesting subplots. The game design then focuses on offering a great way to tell one's story, especially to those looking for a fairly long-lived and intense experience. It is a video game that, however, could have dared a little more.

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Incredible and aesthetically striking, Nobody Wants to Die offers a deep and brutal story, which uniquely details the criticism of alcohol and antidepressant abuse. It also details a character who tells his existence in detail, through a gameplay that is exposed in a unique and well-defined way, demonstrating a lot of personality. A video game to have, both for those who are passionate about similar scenarios, and for those who need a breath of fresh air,

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An Hades-style roguelike action game with the immortal Ninja Turtles... what could possibly go wrong? Nothing, in fact Super Evil Megacorp's take on the genre is definitely fun and accessible, with with an unmissable 4-players couch-coop mode. Splinter Fate reiterates (almost) all the right formulas already seen in similar titles, without daring anything new and proposing a tech compartment that could have been decidedly more 'pushed'.

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Gestalt: Steam and Cinder is a good metroidvania that lacks any significant flaws, but at the same time has a hard time excelling at anything beyond its gorgeous pixel art. A solid choice if you're a fan of the genre, just don't expect it to make you forget about Silksong.

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Since no one else can take advantage of the official license, it's not like Frontier Development has to make its way through a thousand competitors, but nevertheless the developer has been busy again this year. The new features introduced in F1 Manager 2024 improve the gaming experience substantially, offering significant innovations both during the actual races and in the more strictly managerial phases. Now that we know that the level of this management system is at high quality levels, it would be appropriate to also focus on presence, to make it less aseptic and more in line with the motorsport it simulates.

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The Operator, developed by Bureau 81, is a video game of very good quality for the many options it offers in solving the various puzzles it puts in place, also demonstrating a valuable attention to discovery and reading, which Bastien Giafferi himself has never hidden as his great passion. The engaging, headline, could lead you to reflect on society and what really matters. No, not in The Operator it's not about making a gaming PC.

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A survival horror inspired by the classics of the genre, Resident Evil above all, but with a rather original setting. The sources of inspiration can be felt from the very beginning, which will make long-time fans happy, but the strong setting and some little gameplay variations manage to give Conscript its own dimension.

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Dungeons of Hinterberg is an excellent action RPG with a particularly strange story that never veers towards the demented, involving players who will end up identifying with the young protagonist. The beauty of the Alps is beautifully represented, and every corner of the map holds landscapes to admire. The advance in the dungeons loses a bit of bite due to seen and overseen puzzles and virtual barriers that circumscribe the area in which the fights take place. Interesting, on the other hand, are the magic available, which changes from area to area. If you're looking for a dungeon crawler that can stand out from the crowd, you'll love it.

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Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is a tasty hybrid between action adventure and soulslike. The AI of the enemies as well as the general balance of the adventure need to be reviewed, but overall it is a truly superb title, capable of entertaining for many hours.

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Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is a game tailor-made for speedrunners, and played alone it risks losing its appeal in a short time. It's a creature made for a well-thought-out competitive ecosystem, which with online challenges could keep the interest of its select audience high for a long time, or at least until the arrival of an eventual SNES Edition. Perhaps not for everyone, but intriguing if the challenge doesn't scare you.

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