GAMES.CH's Reviews
Two Point Campus: Medical School feels like a smaller, less complex version of Two Point Hospital. If you feel nostalgic or if you are a huge fan of the series, it might be worth it but otherwise you might want to wait for a more creative, standalone add-on to this amazing simulation game.
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Armored Core 6 is a successful sequel, combining the regular series' formula with some huge inspirations especially from Sekiro. It is fast, intense and challenging, later on maybe a little bit too challenging for average gamers.
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"Immortals of Aveum" surprised us positively for long stretches, but above all it entertained us very well. Despite obvious weaknesses, such as the overall boring game world and the story, which is too much based on fantasy clichés, the first-person adventure always brought us back to the action. The fights are very varied thanks to the wide range of magic possibilities and, despite all the speed, also offer a good deal of complexity and tactics. The controls prove to be first-class during battles or even exploration of the environment. And even though "Immortals of Aveum" would certainly have been more possible in terms of story and game world, the game still delivers over 20 hours of good shooter entertainment.
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Ride 5 makes another small step into the right direction. The overall atmospheric career is a solid foundation, but also lacks additional production-value in its presentation. Ride 5 however does deliver on the track with very playable racing-gameplay, that not only challenges experienced players but also gives newcomers a chance to succeed.
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As a horse owner, I was surprised at how close the Sims 4 Horse Ranch is to the real thing. Many horse simulations can take a leaf out of the animation of the horses and while many aspects of horse ownership fall under "design freedom", the core remains and has me glued to the PC every free minute I didn't spend with my real horses. For those who can't do much with horses, the expansion unfortunately doesn't offer much new. The nectar production is fun for a short time and the new goats and sheep are cute, but together with the rather meager new objects, the expansion is rather meager. However, I had a lot of fun and can confirm: whether humans or Sims, if you have one or more horses, there is hardly any time left for anything else!
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With Atlas Fallen, Deck13 delivers a fine and highly customizable hack-and-slay-like combat system. There is generally a great gameplay-flow, too. But with its partly blank game world and weak story the game can't fulfill the highest demands for an action RPG.
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"VR Skater" is a successful VR implementation of skateboarding. The operation is intuitive, challenging and, above all, very fun. However, the handling is manageable. The surcharge for the PS-VR2 version is also difficult to understand, which means that the PC VR version is currently preferable. If you like skating, you can access it here without hesitation. For everyone else, we recommend waiting for a price reduction.
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If you loved „Where is waldo?” you probably gonna like Crime o’Clock as well, especially if you are a beginner in this genre. It has story, humor, some minigames, an helpful AI and some technology which keeps the frustrating part of clueless, hour-long search away. The game is fun for some hours but then it gets quite repetitive, so we recommend to not play it in one go.
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With several minor improvements F1 Manager 2023 might be more than just a small update. But overall these small changes don't make the sequel a much better game. In sum, it's enough to keep the pure solid level of its predecessor, nothing more, nothing less.
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Whether alone or with up to two friends in co-op, "Remnant II" is already one of the best titles of the year. With around 25 hours, the campaign already offers plenty of content, but can be played slightly changed again and again thanks to various generated elements. "Remnant II" offers many elements that are known from other Souls-like games. In particular, spectacular boss fights, versatile character development and an exciting world that can only be slowly opened up via items and from the context are among the strengths that "Remnant II" takes over from modern action role-playing games.
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Not only by abolishing the most frustrating function, Pikmin 4 becomes easier than its predecessor. But that is just one negligible part of the truth. The other is that Pikmin 4 delivers the best, biggest and most complex overworld levels including a diverse set of underworld dungeons with very special challenges. Beside all the other minor and major improvements, Rescue Pup Oatchi dye alone is a huge enrichment by itself. The game also does a great job concerning all the things that made Pikmin such a beloved series with its clever, often puzzle-like strategy gameplay or its sweet and just wonderful presentation. For series' lovers and fans of the genre, Pikmin 4 is a need-to play.
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Exoprimal is just a few unfortunate missteps short of being a hidden gem. The base gameplay that mixes hoard-based PvE and high-stakes PvP is unique and interesting. Even the absurd story about dimension-hopping AI dye and mechanized soldiers fighting dinosaurs had us intrigued. However, the variety of gameplay on offer simply does not justify the price tag and is especially disappointing in regards to the rampant monetization through battle-pass and premium skins. On Gamepass, however, this is a must-try for sure.
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My circle of friends is diverse, and not everyone is physically able to take part in the mini-games from the "team party" just like that. That's why I think it's super cool that there is the possibility to play bingo or start a quiz round with my friends who are physically impaired instead. Others, on the other hand, are real sports cannons, and if the games in the "team party" were only designed for sports, I wouldn't stand a chance. I work up a sweat just by doing the squat challenge or jumping rope. Well, maybe that's also due to the attic apartment and the summer temperatures. The colourful mix of sporting challenges, but also games of patience or skill makes every round exciting anew. "Everybody 1-2-Switch!" is easy to use, everyone will find some mini-game that they enjoy, and it's just a cool addition for in between. The fact that you can also control it via your mobile phone makes it an ideal pastime, and the more people there are, the more fun it becomes.
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Unfortunately, the plot and characters don't come close to the predecessor.
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Master Detective Archives: Rain Code overall does a good job combining elements of adventure games, visual novels and mini-game-based action titles, with a minor lack of being too less demanding. The cases could be very suspenseful, but for this, the storytelling is too lengthy. In the end, not least the game lives from its exaggerated characters and its, in parts, twisted humor.
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AEW Fight Forever turns out to be a huge letdown. The overall experience suffers from the lack of gameplay-polish and the amount of bugs and glitches. While the game delivers some high recognition-value, it fails to live up to the promise of delivering a nostalgic arcade-wrestling-game.
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There's no denying that "Crime Boss: Rockay City" is, at its core, a brazen copy of Overkill's "Payday 2." The supposedly dark gangster story about the "charismatic" Travis Baker is more in the wake of the trashiest B-movies of the 1990s. Whether intentional or not, "Crime Boss: Rockay City" has a certain charm and can inspire over a longer period of time thanks to a solid solo campaign. The game is certainly not for everyone, but it also shows that first impressions can be deceiving.
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Final Fantasy XVI is a great RPG in nearly any aspect, concerning atmosphere, graphics including spectacular effects, twistful story or the fantastic soundtrack and voiceover. But the real star of this epic adventure is the combat system with its fast, fluid and diverse action, inspired by Hack-and-Slash dye games. Any fight is fun peaking in overwhelming bosses and mind-blowing Esper battles.
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With "Aliens: Dark Descent", Tindalos Interactive mixes one of the coolest sci-fi horror licenses of the last decades with an amazingly sophisticated tactical gameplay foundation that ensures high tension even after hours. Seemingly harmless situations can escalate dramatically within seconds, the permadeath and shelter mechanics make you proceed much more carefully than in many comparable genre representatives, the developers have balanced the resource availability surprisingly well and the AI keeps even experienced tacticians on their toes on medium difficulty. The fact that I can withdraw at any time - but have to accept other disadvantages - is also cleverly done and prevents possible moments of frustration in a meaningful way.
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However, it is also a fact that not all the gears of "Park Beyond" are running smoothly yet. The road construction system sometimes leads to quite strange results, which can often only be ironed out by demolition and terraforming measures. Some challenges that have already been met are not correctly recognized, in some places the balancing seems half-baked, and if the Ferris wheel occasionally stands still for no reason despite high maintenance values, it is quite necessary to shake your head. However, if you overlook these hopefully soon patched teething troubles, what remains is a motivating construction simulation with damn cool rides, a terrific roller coaster editor and the graphically as well as playfully creatively implemented impossification mechanics.
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