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Actually, there's not much left to say. You don't play House of Ashes because it looks good or because of its innovative game mechanics - you play it if you like well-paced stories with minimal self-involvement and a bit of horror (in the broadest sense). If you're looking for something between cinematic and classic gameplay principles and consider yourself a fan of the genre, the third chapter of Dark Pictures Anthology is worth checking out. Undecided fans of cultivated horror will probably not be completely convinced by the title, though, as there are still too many problems at once.

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Square Enix and Eidos Montreal have managed the license balancing act that few would have expected: From the flop of 2020 to the hot GotY candidate in 2021. With a heavy dose of wit, charm and plenty of 80s vibes, Eidos Montreal has shown a flair for the brand and fully catapulted Guardians into our hearts. After last year's Avengers fiasco, the single-player adventure is an absolute surprise hit and the necessary redemption for battered Marvel souls. Thanks to the glorious music selection, the lovable characters and the thrillingly staged story around five likeable messes, Eidos Montreal's licensed implementation has become an absolutely well-rounded affair. The relationships between the protagonists seem tangible and real, the group dynamics are worked out in detail and the many comic book references make you want more. It's a real pleasure to watch your pals tease, argue or get along and see how they keep growing together as a team. The shallow and rather rudimentary battles lack depth and overview, but are still very motivating. Even minor technical glitches can't detract from the game's great fun.

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Could the remaster of what is definitely, in my eyes, the best 3D Sonic live up to my expectations? Definitely. However, I didn't expect any quantum leaps either, but those who do might get a rude awakening. Sonic Colours Ultimate is a robust remaster with slight additions - nothing more, nothing less. If you liked the original and want to experience the whole thing again, you can grab it, and newcomers should also have fun with the port. However, those who have absolutely nothing to do with jump'n'runs or the relatively fast-paced Sonic gameplay won't get their money's worth with Sonic Colours Ultimate.

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A masterpiece of staging paired with an entertaining, highly digestible and occasionally motivating game design is probably the surprise hit of the year: Kena: Bridge of Spirits impressively proves that it definitely doesn't take an experienced video game developer to create a stable overall construct that not only knows how to captivate emotionally, but can also entertain. The action-adventure hardly brings any innovation to the busy genre, but clearly creates a certain uniqueness due to its discrepant structure. The cuddly Pixar look meets a darker, clearly more grown-up narrative as well as an (over)demanding battle scene, which nevertheless never manages to lose you on a motivational level. In combination with the clearly digestible gameplay and the really successful technical implementation, the action adventure manages to emancipate itself from its indie niche and fights its way into the relevance range of its AAA competition. Minimal lapses like the miserable focus system or minor frame drops are forgiven for the entertaining adventure, of course. What remains in the end is not only an animation studio that has skillfully proven how a holistic vision can liquidate a lack of experience, but has also given us the second reason to own a PlayStation home console in September. Now we just have to hope that Ember Lab exploits the immense merchandising potential behind the cuddly Rott - they deserve it.

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Tales of Arise is without question a feast for anime lovers and Japano fans of the first hour. The JRPG unabashedly grinds out just about every cliché along the way, but is so wholesome and motivating that it's hard to stay mad at it. The stunning animations by Studio Ufotable are the big visual highlight here and should reconcile any skeptic who might not otherwise enjoy the picturesque graphic style. In general, Tales of Arise is quite traditional in its gameplay and lacks creativity in many parts, but there are no real slip-ups. Apart from the questionable monetization, we are left with a varied and sometimes epic adventure with a motivating gameplay loop and, last but not least, likeable characters.

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The game "Can't Drive This" proves to be an entertaining fun racer in our test, which invites to wacky duels on the track. Although the multiplayer title does not offer any noteworthy depth, the long-term motivation is kept at a high level thanks to the different modes. The combination of track building and driving also works very well in "Can't Drive This", so that the right skill is not only required on the virtual track. Although "Can't Drive This" can by no means compete with the well-known genre greats, the title still promises some fun multiplayer duels with friends.

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Operation Tango offers what hit games like It Takes Two lacked: a real challenge. The separate screens and the puzzles that can't be solved at first glance make teams communicate with each other efficiently and thoughtfully to get ahead. The puzzles, while not unsolvably difficult, do require thinking around the corner a time or two. We hope that this innovative approach will be followed by many more, because despite the shortness of the title and the somewhat meager story, we had this above all: a lot of fun and a lot of brain training.

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Biomutant can at best be described as an unexciting and unmotivated gameplay mash-up that never really outgrows its 08/15 status. In short: The RPG doesn't hurt anyone and certainly doesn't mark a total failure, but it is still far too immature and doesn't really seem to have been thought through to the end at any point. In the end, the cuddly adventure degenerates into an undemanding and perhaps even child-friendly action game for entertaining fun, which is still searching for its own identity. Admittedly, some interesting and creative ideas have been incorporated here and there, but they never quite want to coalesce into a homogeneous mass. It seems as if Biomutant simply got lost in the abundance of its individual parts. The bottom line is that our Frankenstein monster will probably need a bit more than just a few additional seams until it is actually fully functional.

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You can't really go far wrong with It Takes Two if you're looking for some diverting fun with more serious undertones. It entertains, it looks nice, and it makes you laugh and gulp a bit. It's not outstanding, though, and in many places it lacks a bit of the otherwise so generously applied creativity, especially in the unfortunately somewhat too simple puzzles and the very stringent storytelling. And despite all that, it's fun when you have the right person at your side, with whom you can shimmy through this co-op game and then wait again for the next game from Hazlelight.

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New Pokémon Snap is the successful reincarnation of the original Pokémon spin-off from 1999, which not only looks wonderful, but also depicts an authentic Pokémon world. While New Pokémon Snap will fully satisfy the collecting mania of any Pokémaniac, those of you who have trouble getting excited about the franchise anyway will probably have rather little joy with the title. Nintendo doesn't take any big risks with the sequel and delivers exactly what fans have come to expect: an unexciting rail shooter with great backdrops and thoroughly staged Pokemon acting. You can certainly criticize the game for that, but Pokémon enthusiasts will probably still get their money's worth.

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NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... is a thoroughly solid remake of the 2011 insider tip, whose age is still clearly visible despite various cosmetic repairs: The look of the penultimate console generation still sticks to too many models, and the remake still nibbles too much at the long-winded pacing and the repetitive game design. Nevertheless, the dramatic and highly philosophical story behind this facade still knows how to entertain at the highest level even after more than a decade. The artful genre mix, the successful musical background and the self-referential humor hide some of the game's dry stretches. Although Replicant can't quite live up to the expectations Automata created with its successful concept, it still manages to create unique moments that make all the effort worthwhile.

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Besides the prominent pro- or antagonists like zombies and vampires in recent years, Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood positively stands out from the crowd with the rather stepmotherly treated werewolves. Unfortunately, that's almost all that can be said positively about the title. But don't misunderstand - Werewolf isn't a bad game per sé, it's just mediocre: Graphics and story look old, especially in direct comparison with other recently released titles, many parts like the skill tree seem to be seen as a must rather than a real enrichment for the game and the short game duration of about eight hours isn't convincing either. Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood seems to want a lot, but not be able to accomplish that much. At least there could have been more of the heavy metal music.

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"Hitman 3" proves to be a successful stealth game and concludes the successful series about the hitman with dignity. Veterans of the series will immediately get into the third part and enjoy the entertaining missions, the black humor and the hidden Easter Eggs. Hitman 3" undoubtedly deserves the highest mark for its level design, which contributed significantly to the incomparable atmosphere of the game. It's simply fun to explore the winding areas in order to eliminate the next target with even more perfection. Nevertheless, it can't be denied that "Hitman 3" with its six main missions is undoubtedly no scope bombast. In addition, the game lacks any real innovations, so a certain routine will creep in very quickly, especially for pros. All in all, fans of the Hitman series and lovers of perfidious stealth games will undoubtedly find the right game fodder in "Hitman 3".

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Curious Expedition 2 can be recommended to fans of strategy games with narrative elements and colorful graphics. Especially the different roles with their special abilities and personalities as well as procedural map generation lead to a high replay value, where you can still experience new things in the third playthrough. Only the random rolls could be improved, as they can throw a spanner in the works even with the best planning. If you don't get frustrated too easily and enjoy tactically dealing with all kinds of diseases, madness and the wilderness, Curious Expedition 2 will offer you some challenging hours.

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Little Nightmares II is an intense and atmospheric scary experience, which, however, is a bit weak on the gameplay side. The character and sound design are still excellently staged, the entertaining puzzles fit well into the minimalistic concept and the whimsical design fascinates from the first minute on. Nevertheless, the unintuitive and sluggish controls keep nibbling away at our frustration tolerance, and the trail & error concept unfortunately repeatedly pulls us out of the intense atmosphere. Like its predecessor, Little Nightmares II may not be a hardcore horror, but it is a likeable and entertaining thrill ride that will keep you entertained for a few hours.

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TOHU is definitely a game that lives on its graphic and sounds. In every new area, players are wise to take a few moments to take in the beautifully crafted surroundings and their details. On a positive note, this also helps for solving the puzzles that could overall be more demanding and original. The story itself remains rather superficial, except for a few comments made by the little number of NPCs encountered, and is ending rather abruptly. TOHU is a game for all those that are searching for a game, that is nicely designed and easy to listen to and guarantees a few hours of entertainment.

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Disjunction is not a game that invites its players to explore. Story as well as map pathing are predefined, NPC’s are primarily a means to an end, and characters alternate back and forth between their homes and their missions. But the story lines of the protagonists, who by themselves could hardly be more different, and a for some players potentially foreseeable end give enough variety to stay engaged. Additionally, the socio-critical undertones hit one or two nerves along the way, especially in times like these. The charming pixel graphics, nicely created maps, easy-to-handle controls and levels that give hope to succeed in the next run even though the player just got deafeated – all those factors make for an entertaining and compelling gaming experience.

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"Assassin's Creed Valhalla" proves to be an exciting open-world game that is completely convincing, at least at first glance. With the Nordic-inspired Viking adventure, friends of the series can look forward to impressive locations and put their assassin skills to the test once again. Both the missions and the battles are perfectly adapted to the scenery and let the player dive deep into the Nordic world. However, "Assassin's Creed Valhalla" lacks a really gripping story, which was an important supporting structure in many predecessors. The graphics could also use some fine-tuning to make the setting seem even more realistic. Nevertheless, genre fans will undoubtedly enjoy "Assassin's Creed Valhalla" and can look forward to an assassin adventure of a different kind.

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Even though "Unto the End" turns out to be very fair overall thanks to the numerous save points, the player definitely has to show brains in order to develop the right strategies. The regular flashbacks and nightmare sequences, which provide the player with valuable clues about the background story, also provide the right atmosphere. Visually, "Unto the End" impresses with its simple 2D graphics, which, however, don't lose anything of the game's special atmosphere. All in all, players can look forward to an indie title with "Unto the End", which challenges them in a very special way. Fans of extraordinary survival games will definitely make the right catch with "Unto the End".

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"Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time" proves in the test to be a crazy 2.5D platformer, which is in no way inferior to its predecessors. So friends of the game series can once again look forward to a fast-paced gaming experience, bizarre boss opponents and the right pinch of humor. However, even the most hardened pros will be challenged enormously and will have to have a lot of patience, especially on the high difficulty level. If you want to experience the nostalgic flair of a timeless classic and are prepared to make a few technical cutbacks, "Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time" is not to be missed.

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