GAMES.CH's Reviews
Overall, "The Crew Motorfest" is a solid open-world racer. Above all, the arcade-heavy handling and the associated racing action are right. The engine sounds and the detailed graphics also make a lot of sense and create a good racing atmosphere. From a purely visual point of view, the game does not come close to its obvious role model "Forza Horizon", but offers an overall greater variety of games. The enemy behavior is also a bit better and more comprehensible - with a mixture of real AI performance and rather smaller rubber band effects, which mainly work to the advantage of the game on the lower difficulty levels. On the other hand, there is sometimes a lack of comfort. The included microtransactions and the always-on compulsion, which is simply superfluous for users of the solo offer, including the relatively quick expulsion in case of inactivity (at the time of testing), also cost additional points.
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Ad Infinitum wraps a deeply moving story of trauma, loss, fear, and self-discovery into a horror game that gets under your skin. The sound design is fantastic and provides numerous moments of suspense. However, the debut effort from German studio Hekate also suffers from gameplay flaws and clumsy animations. But if you can get into the story and overlook the aforementioned flaws, Ad Infinitum is an excellent horror game with depth.
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The sadly last title of Mimimi Games sends the German developer out in a blaze of glory. While there’s nothing really new or unheard of, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is an absolute love letter to the tactical stealth genre and blends in excellent, varied gameplay with a charming, albeit superficial pirate story and a vibrant, colorful look. The gameplay style may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you enjoy the idea of planning the perfect heist with a band of undead pirates, this is your dream come true.
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Black Skylands follows modern Open World design a little too closely sometimes and relies on resource collecting, outpost clearing and repetitive side quests a little too often. Nonetheless the core gameplay is fun, and the presentation of the pixelated world is charming. Due to the gameplay remaining largely the same throughout its runtime, this is best enjoyed in smaller sessions and some breaks in between.
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Fae Farm is a typically complex farming game that casts a spell over you with a (too small) touch of magic and enchanting creatures. You'll be chronically broke, tired and drained, but pretty happy.
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Starfield may not reinvent the wheel when it comes to Bethesda’s formula for role-playing games, but it cleverly combines the best elements of past games in a very appealing sci-fi setting. The highlights are no doubt the many well-written and well-designed quests that you’ll encounter throughout your journey through the settled systems. No matter what appeals to you as a player, be it nail-biting gunfights, the quiet construction of your own base or the thrills of laser-dodging dye dogfighting, Starfield has hours upon hours of content for you to lose yourself in.
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Trine 5 is a successful continuation of a game series that deserves more attention. The annoying combat system doesn't spoil the overall picture enough and for players with an affinity for puzzles this is a clear recommendation to buy.
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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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