GAMES.CH's Reviews
Retropolis 2 is a very successful indie game. It pleases with good puzzles, a coherent game world and an exciting story. If the whole thing gets bigger in scope, we might even have a system seller with part 3.
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The Monster Hunter Stories Collection for PlayStation delivers around 70 to 80 hours of pleasant gameplay with fine round-based combat and a motivating character system. The remastered version of part 1 increases the experience by some nice visual improvements and benefits a lot from the totally new voiceover. It’s not on eye level with current productions, but that does not affect the atmosphere too much. The second part Wings of Ruin is still the better game with a richer world and a more complex combat system. But if you already played it on a PC or Switch, you do not experience much new. In total, the Monster Hunter Stories Collection is a rich compilation of two games, you should play if you like the Monster Hunter series and round based combat.
Review in German | Read full review
The Monster Hunter Stories Collection for PlayStation delivers around 70 to 80 hours of pleasant gameplay with fine round-based combat and a motivating character system. The remastered version of part 1 increases the experience by some nice visual improvements and benefits a lot from the totally new voiceover. It’s not on eye level with current productions, but that does not affect the atmosphere too much. The second part Wings of Ruin is still the better game with a richer world and a more complex combat system. But if you already played it on a PC or Switch, you do not experience much new. In total, the Monster Hunter Stories Collection is a rich compilation of two games, you should play if you like the Monster Hunter series and round based combat.
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For us, there is no doubt. "Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengence" is the definitive version of the game. The relatively small improvements in usability alone make the game completely different. Not to mention the general overhaul of the story, which means that the game allows two distinctly different playthroughs and thus offers an enormous scope. In the overall package with a very strong visual identity and a legendary soundtrack, "Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengence" is an absolute must-have for all fans of JRPGs, whether they are familiar with the series or not.
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Both the jokes and puns as well as most of the puzzles can be enjoyed by people of almost all ages. Duck Detective: The Secret Salami offers a short narrative that doesn’t overstay its welcome and is for the most part very engaging for two to three hours. The English voicecast is fantastic but with the text only being available in English as well it’s unfortunately not accessible all around the world.
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xDefiant presents itself as a very strong foundation of a game that is supposed to last for all the content to come and hopefully many years. It is currently plagued by some technical issues that can cause severe frustration but the developers are already aware of those problems so they will hopefully be fixed in time. The gunplay is more than solid and the base experience is fun and thrilling.
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Killer Klowns from outer Space - The Game is a solid asymmetrical horror shooter that lacks polish and sometimes liveliness, but not humor.
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Better than its predecessor? That's what "EA Sports F1 24" definitely is. The adjustments in the career are coherent, even if they flood the gameplay with far too many side quests. Nevertheless, the game conveys a good Formula 1 atmosphere and of course shines with its high recognition value. On the track, "F1 24" scores with its discreetly adjusted controls. The gameplay feels even more direct and dynamic. Especially from the cockpit perspectives, the Simcade title convinces with its strong sense of speed with very detailed environmental graphics. There is also little to complain about in terms of scope: Thanks to "F1 World", challenge career and multiplayer options, there is more than enough to do. In short: "F1 24" is a sovereign sequel, even if there is still room for improvement in his career.
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At its core, Crown Wars: The Black Prince is an exciting strategy game, especially after you've invested a few hours of gameplay in expanding your domain and upgrading your troops. The more tactical options we got, the more fun we had, also thanks to the fast pace of the battles. However, the game still gets in its own way too often in the current version. Especially the camera is suboptimal in the fights and the fun of the skirmishes sometimes fluctuates due to the sometimes too stupid AI. The biggest fun killer, however, turned out to be the technical quirks that really wore on our nerves.
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"System Shock" is the gold standard for remakes of old classics. It shows that old and new do not have to stand in each other's way, but also complement each other. Although there are some old burdens, especially in the operation of the inventory and the hand-to-hand combat, these are quickly covered up by the timeless exploration of the beautifully implemented space station. Whether for fans of the original or for those who grew up with the titles that learned from "System Shock", this remake is a worthwhile trip into video game history.
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Sending your own superhero into the race is a brave move and, at least in terms of play, it really works here. There's plenty of scope to come up with your own solutions, and figuring out the best strategy makes the hours fly by. The fact that the ambitious story is not supported by a corresponding character design is regrettable, but in view of the undeniable gameplay qualities it is easy to get over.
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Hauntii is certainly stunningly gorgeous and can make you feel incredibly smart whenever you find and solve one of its many puzzles. Unfortunately the game demands you to find and solve almost all of those puzzles which isn’t always easy to do. The map doesn’t offer a lot of help and it can lead to pointless and frustrating roaming around. The slower Twinstick-Shooter gameplay on the other hand is not too challenging but offers somewhat relaxing action moments.
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The game sucks you skin and hair into its fantasy world and creates such an intense bond with the characters and their stories that you want to know at every second how the adventure ends.
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Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is still a great mixture of RPG and platformer with fine papercraft graphics and humorous story. But in terms of content, the visually advanced Switch version delivers nothing new for dye connoisseurs of the GameCube original, which makes it less interesting for them as for players who experience the remastered version for the first time.
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The developers at Odd Studio have brought a daring project to the market with "Indika", which is difficult to classify. This review can be reduced to the following: you have to have played "Indika" to really judge it. Despite the rather dull gameplay, which is sometimes even boring, I had a fantastic time. This is due to brilliant performances by the main characters, an interesting and philosophical story, as well as the studio's daring approach to voice acting, soundtrack and art styles. With a playing time of maybe about four hours, you can quickly get to the credits, but you have spent the time with a title that may not let you go so quickly.
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In conclusion, it can only be said that Creative Assembly has successfully found its way back to its best moments here. For example, "Thrones of Decay" offers a lot of good innovations and adjustments both free and paid, and the three new factions can also be purchased individually if desired. We were particularly impressed by the attention to detail with which the new units, lords and heroes were worked out and how skilfully everything fits seamlessly into the already very, very extensive game. Whether for long-time fans or for newcomers, "Total War: Warhammer 3" is currently doing everything right.
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Little Kitty, Big City has a lot of problems with its controls and other technical aspects. In the end those problems did not bother me too much though. Guiding the Kitty through the city, meeting cute little animal friends and just doing what cats are known to do was very pleasant and fun. The game is never too challenging or also never puts any animals at risk, which makes it perfect for a cute little romp over one or two play sessions.
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Solo Leveling: Arise is a convincing, easy-to-play action game with a slick combat system and great presentation. However, the sometimes miserably long grind, the gacha mechanics and other weaknesses prevent Jin-Woo from reaching the highest level in this version of his gripping adventure.
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As a fan of the "Souls" series, you always want new titles in this area and even if, as already mentioned at the beginning, "Soulslikes" are now a dime a dozen, it is still hard to find a really good representative of this genre. "Another Crab's Treasure" has established itself on the good side of these games for me personally. Here and there there is still a bit of fine-tuning, especially in the area of performance, music and the sometimes somewhat questionable hitbox, but after the first entry hurdle the ambition and the well-known Souls addiction quickly returned. The colorful and cartoonish world offers a desirable change in the otherwise very dark genre of "Soulslike".
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The Night of the Rabbit is classic in two senses: a classic adventure game that is clearly modeled on Alice in Wonderland. The result is graphically outstanding, narratively convincing, but not very innovative in terms of gameplay.
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