GAMES.CH's Reviews
At the end of the day, Across the Valley is a tech demo to show a newcomer to VR. There is no material for long-term motivation and therefore it is not recommended except as a showcase.
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After many years of "early retirement", "EA Sports PGA Tour" is at its best. The action on the course is clearly in the foreground: The golf gameplay convinces and is pleasantly demanding thanks to stroke variations and adjustments. For beginners, there are help functions and challenges that help you overcome initial difficulties. The career mode is motivating and, with its many customization and optimization options, offers sufficient scope for longer sessions. Overall, however, this type of game is unfortunately also presented in a very unspectacular way. Even with a comparatively quiet sport like golf, there is simply more. All in all, however, "EA Sports PGA Tour" delivers well in its comeback and is technically a real feast for the eyes.
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This prequel ironically feels smaller in scope and ambition than the first game in the series. Road 96 Mile 0 suffers from similar issues when it comes to relying too much on clichés of an evil regime. Some of the choices put before players are downright insulting and boil down to whether we think oppression is "okay" or not. Despite its flaws, it offers some really interesting character moments in the last third and offers some world building that was missing from the original Road 96. Newcomers find a good entry point here, while returning players will find some innovations gone, while other things like the environments have been largely improved.
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The result is an always fairly balanced, well-structured and charmingly narrated VR shooting gallery with numerous comfort functions, which represents a nice springboard into virtual reality due to its not too high playful complexity. In order to overcome the threshold to the must-have title in a possible sequel, however, you need even more sophistication in level design, significantly more puzzle inserts, smarter enemies and an even larger game world.
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Curse of the Sea Rats benefits a lot from its nice looking cartoon graphics, the well done voice acting and by staying true to the Metroidvania genre at least in most aspects. There are also a lot of optional secrets to find with many references to game classics like Monkey Island, Worms or The Legend of Zelda. The major weak spot is the combat system, that largely fails of being satisfying and well balanced.
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Meet Your Maker presents a fun, new take on level-builders like Mario Maker and classical shooters. Running and gunning is a quick and painful way to die here. Instead players should expect a surprisingly tactical take on post-apocalyptic grave robbery that's more than a little light on content at launch. As a live service, developer Behaviour Interactive (also responsible for Dead by Daylight) promises new content in regular intervals and if they can keep that up, this definitely has the potential for a cult classic.
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Two Point Campus: School Spirits is a fun little addon to the main game. Playstyle, music, humor remains all the same and is still awesome. Sadly there is only one new campus and a new challenge to play, so after a few hours you are already done. Cool for fans of the series, not a must-buy for everyone else.
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Ryza 3 takes the well-known, loving Atelier formula, expands it with many new elements and turns it into a huge JRPG that is not perfect - but one of the best games in the entire franchise.
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"WWE 2K23" is growing in almost every area and presents itself as an overall better and more balanced overall package than its predecessor.
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The new Resident Evil 4 is just one of the best game remakes so far. Capcom finds a fantastic way between modernizing the game and implementing new (and more comfortable) features on the one hand and staying true to the classic and various elements that Resi fans have fallen in love with. If you're a fan of the original or just like action-based survival-horror games, you need to play it.
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Anno 1800: Console Edition brings the successful city builder to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X. Ubisoft did a great job, adapting gameplay and controls to this new environment. "Anno 1800" works surprisingly well with a gamepad.
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As a more or less classical rail shooter, Dark Pictures Switchback VR is no complexity monster – and it's short concerning a single playthrough. But the simple and good working gameplay mechanics are nothing less than a perfect match for VR. The shooting trip also benefits from its scary atmosphere while particular connoisseurs of the core series will enjoy the similarities.
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Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is a nice prequel that mixes storybook with elements of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and suggestively parallels the Metroidvania genre, including a high focus on combat, by being much more linear than this. But there are many things providing the game to be a must-have. The main reason for that is the low aspiration for being at least half-way tough, especially in terms of fighting.
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Like the first game, Figment 2: Creed Valley packs serious topics into a cute look with decent riddle- and adventure gameplay. The boss fights in particular are a real highlight and help to overlook small technical glitches and the like.
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Clash: Artifacts of Chaos unlocks a universe in which there is a lot to discover - be it the ever-changing monster variants or the bizarrely beautiful landscapes. The cel-shaded look of the game is a feast for the eyes, the soundtrack skillfully emphasizes the sometimes threatening, sometimes almost idyllic atmosphere. However, iIt takes a bit of getting used to the fact that the world can't be explored completely freely, but rather guides us through circled areas.
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Nearly as fast as Sekiro dye, but still with a lot of tactical options in its duel-based fights, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty delivers a unique mix of different Soulslike attitudes. If the first boss wasn't a little too hard and the difficulty curve flattening more and more afterwards, Wo Long maybe could have beaten Nioh 2. That way it's not outstanding, but just a well done action RPG that can easily be recommended to any fan of the genre.
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Scars Above takes some time to unfold ist true potential, both in the story and its gameplay. The exploration of this unknown planet in the role of a stranded researcher is unforgiving and refuses to compromise on the almost puzzle-like combat, even if some encounters early on can be frustrating as you get to grips with how the game wants you to play. Scars Above isn't for everyone, as it demands a lot more thought and strategy during combat than it lets on, but if you're willing to learn and be patient, this one's definitely worth your time.
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Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe remains a fine jump-and-run game that makes mostly anything right concerning new HD graphics and new skills. It is fun to play, as long as you don't expect something very challenging. Also the scope of the game is fine, but especially fans of the Wii original should know that they should not expect too much from the completely new epilogue mode.
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Life is strange 2 is a fantastic story-based 3D adventure around the brothers Sean and Danieldye, which picks up difficult topics like racism and police brutality, but also shows the wonderful side of a growing, bonding brotherhood. Sadly the Nintendo Switch Version seems not to be really tested before the release, so its full of glitches and old graphics, which destroy the gameplay a lot. Overall: great story, but better play it on another platform.
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Atomic Heart immediately draws you in with its enchantingly weird story of a retro-futuristic Soviet Union. However, an interesting and visually compelling vision is hampered by a meandering story and some truly awful combat encounters. What comes to mind is style over substance, yet there’s plenty of content to be found here, just none of it standing out as particularly well-polished. Still, the game has a fair share of interesting ideas and moments that make it worth experiencing despite its flaws.
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