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Despite the many small criticisms in detail, Sifu is a really good game, but not necessarily aimed at everyone. The target audience should love challenges and be able to handle gaming frustration. The super easy difficulty level should be accessible to more gamers, but honestly didn't really pick me up. You could get through it without having any major problems. The levels are really beautifully designed and the battle system is absolutely successful. It's just incredibly fun to master the buttons and complete sections almost perfectly and destroy the enemies completely. The story is honestly an absolute minor matter, but offers some fun characters and connections. Sifu is a little gem whose color may not appeal to everyone, but is definitely worth a first and second look if you're ever looking for a challenging title for your console.

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I enjoyed Dandy Ace enormously with its colorful layout. The immersion in the world of magic and illusion also convinced me. Defeating enemies with cards or giving them hell with fireworks fits perfectly into the overall concept. With the amount of enemies and the clarity, the developer could perhaps still create a remedy in an update. Because two waves of enemies with six to eight opponents is a bit much and gets frustrating very quickly. With more than thirty different maps and different endings, you can invest some time in Dandy Ace. Even if the game doesn't come close to The Binding of Isaac, it's a worthy successor to Skul: The Hero Slayer. I remain hopeful that the game will be fed with many updates and expansions.

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Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity bridges the time until the release of Breath of the Wild 2, but unfortunately only briefly. While the environment and enemy types may seem varied at first, you become dulled as the game progresses. However, the search for crogs or the prey hunt for special items and weapons remains particularly motivated. There are more than enough side tasks to complete. Besides the simple booty hunts, you can also sit down in the huge colossuses to defeat even more enemies in a short time. But especially when a lot of enemies appear on the screen, the performance of the Switch can reach its limits. All in all Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a decently made Warriors game that you will have fun with if you are a fan of such Musou titles.

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The Dark Pictures: Little Hope offers proven scary food, as you are used to from Supermassive Games. Alone or with friends, you have the opportunity to influence the course of history and become master of life and death of your protégés. All in all, The Dark Pictures: Little Hope is good material for a scary evening with a thrilling story, which also has a very unexpected twist at the end.

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Even seven years after its release Torchlight II still knows how to please, the game has aged well. The typical loot system works wonderfully on the home consoles. The porting is successful except for the equipment area. The story cannot convince one hundred percent with the few twists and surprises, but it doesn't have to. Since the story is finished after a good twenty hours, in the end game you only concentrate on the optimal equipment anyway. Torchlight II can still be played today, as long as you don't have elaborate textures or detailed graphics.

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The Exorcist: Legion VR is a wonderfully scary horror adventure that may not be suitable for the more sensitive. The graphics are unequalled in the PSVR sector and the atmosphere draws the player deep into the action. Unfortunately the whole thing is a bit too short and offers hardly any replay value.

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Paper Mario: The Origami Kingdom is definitely not an everyday RPG. You can argue whether the new combat system is innovative or disruptive. I didn't like the fact that in the end there is no reward for winning battles. The coins earned can be spent in the store for various accessories, but these are soon bought up. That's why the normal fights are disturbing and you try to avoid them later in the game. The absolute highlight remains the setting, because the gorgeous colors and the character sprites are shining like hell. Also the search for the toads is motivating and lets you enjoy the whole game world. Finally, it remains to say that Paper Mario: The Origami Kingdom unfortunately can't hold a candle to its predecessors. The story around Mario and Origami ruler Olly is well done, but the stressful fighting system makes the game fun to play.

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I had an enormous amount of fun with New Pokémon Snap. That's especially because it's so wonderfully decelerating. Just turn on the Switch and dive into the tropical forests for a few hours and look for the perfect picture of Arbok. Since the game concept doesn't overwhelm, even children will have their fun with the title. Of course, it should not be forgotten that the gameplay is very repetitive and almost doesn't change at all from the beginning to the end. It also leaves the bland aftertaste that you only move along predefined routes. All in all, it's a good remake of the original title. If you can get excited about the likes of Animal Crossing, you'll definitely enjoy New Pokémon Snap.

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Ys IX Monstrum Nox is a role-playing pearl that I wouldn't want to miss. The ninth part also convinced me with its battle system and story. Especially the plot is, in my opinion, the best story of the series. Unexpected twists combined with exciting character relationships have me under their spell. The graphics are, as in the other sequels, unfortunately outdated and could use a beauty treatment. With 20 to 30 hours and six different difficulty levels, you can spend quite some time in Balduq. The New Game Plus mode also invites you to collect forgotten items and explore all the secrets of the prison city. All in all, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox is a solid JRPG title that you won't regret buying.

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Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a homage to the entire series. The background music has always been an essential part of the franchise. That's why I was all the more pleased when this game was announced. The story sections are told in their most essential features, which is good for newcomers, but simply too little for veterans. Also the scope is exhausted relatively quickly and the other modes are nice, but it doesn't have a real added value. The enemy types are also exhausted after a while. The real highlight is and remains the music, because every single track reminded me of the wonderful events around Kingdom Hearts. If you want to remember such moments, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a must buy. If you don't have any nostalgic memories of it, you will have to think twice about buying it.

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All in all I like the new season quite well. At the start, I guess we had some problems to keep the servers stable. I had frequent connection problems and opponents that were lying so hard that I couldn't hit them and was dead on the ground the next moment. In fact you can feel an improvement from night to night. There seems to be a lot going on behind the scenes. I finally think Horizon is great again, because I personally didn't like the last newcomers that much. But everyone has to decide that for himself. Since I take a look in every season and play more or less actively, I can say that the seventh season turned out to be so interesting that I will stay on the ball. See you on Olympus!

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Alvastia Chronicles offers a story with ups and downs, unexpected twists and turns and surprise. You wouldn't expect this title to show that, but I was well entertained throughout. I especially liked the wealth of characters that can be recruited. At every corner of the world, you can find more friends. This feature indirectly forces you to deal with the world. It should be noted that there is no synchronization of the characters, so everything has to be read. Here you have to unpack your English knowledge, because there is no German translation. I also enjoyed the variety of the different characters. If you want to make friends with barrels or trees, this is no problem in Alvastia Chronicles. The fights are well designed throughout, but the random fights are just annoying from a certain point on. It feels like there are just too many in too short a time. A nice side note is that towards the end of the game, you're pretty overleveled, so the end boss shouldn't be a problem. If you're looking for a solid JRPG with collection factor, you'll have a lot of fun with Alvastia Chronicles!

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Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is, in a nutshell, a huge collection quest. That should be clear to every buyer. Whether large or small, you will be rewarded with a wonderful game world for your purchase, which you will be reluctant to leave. After a stressful day at work, we are driven to the cuddly world of the game every now and then. Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is a clear recommendation to buy. If you can do without a cartridge, you can also get it for a much lower price in the Nintendo eShop.

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Underhero is a lovingly designed indie title with lots of attention to detail. If you look at the conversations around the colleagues of 745, it is fun to listen to them. It doesn't seem to be a burden to talk to all monsters, no, you want to talk to everybody and get to know the world around the Underhero better. The bouncing passages are the shortcoming of the game. Not only once did the inaccuracy of the jump drive me crazy. But in the end I kept going until I mastered the last jump, even though it took me several years of my life. The fights were a lot of fun. I immediately remembered the Paper Mario parts where dodging and learning the attack patterns was part of survival. If you want to play a mixture of platformer and roleplaying game, spiced with a fun and exciting story, you definitely won't go wrong with Underhero.

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Super Mario 3D All-Stars shows the young generation what the evolution of Nintendo's mascot has looked like. Starting with an edgy 3D representation with camera problems, up to a wonderfully designed plumber, who is looking for his princess in space. Even nostalgics will enjoy the collection. You may return to your childhood and experience Mario again. You only have to give deductions in the implementation of the games. That in Super Mario 64, no 16:9 aspect ratio was inserted, is a sad fact. Also the price of 60 Euro was chosen very high for a remaster which was not really remastered.  All in all, you will have fun with Super Mario 3D All-Stars, no matter if you accompany Mario on one of his 3D adventures for the first time or if you have already experienced them several times.

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"Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has become a really entertaining game. The way the story is presented and experienced is very successful. A good compromise is found between action interludes, exploration and narration, without losing the common thread. Those who appreciate the soundtrack and the humor of the movie will also get their money's worth here, while being brought closer to the original universe from the comics. Basically, Eidos Montréal offers excellent fan service, with enough potential to entertain players who haven't had much to do with the Guardians of the Galaxy yet.

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It's been a long time since I've been so torn when it came to rating a game. Mario Party Superstars has a lot of good points, such as the different co-op options and the mini-game mountain with a selection of the best games in Mario Party history. But exactly the second argument also brings a disadvantage. With the given number of mini-games, the air is out very quickly. I also find it a shame that you no longer have to unlock the games or boards. This means that the replay value is quickly lost, especially if you have played through all the boards. With the coins won from them, you can still go shopping in the Toadshop, but these things have no relevance in the end. All in all, Mario Party Superstars is a good game if you want to indulge in fond nostalgic memories. As long as you are aware of this fact and don't expect any too important innovations, you will have your fun with the title.

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You can see in Dark Deity that the developers have a great love for classic SRPGs like Fire Emblem. Even if the story and presentation aren't overwhelming, the battle system does a lot right. Starting with the active abilities, which really add something and aren't just a decorative effect. Then there are the different classes, which gave me the opportunity to customize my squad the way I wanted. Finally, to the little things, like the battle animations, which add a lot of charm to the game. In my opinion, if more had been invested in the story presentation in addition, the title could have reached a wide range of players. Thus, Dark Deity remains an insider tip among SRPG fans that can be bought without hesitation.

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Bravely Default 2 convinces with its gameplay mechanics in all cases. Even though you have to be aware that the difficulty level is already hard as nails on the normal setting. You don't need to have played the predecessors for this spin-off, since the game tells its own story. It takes some time for the story to pick up speed. But once you reach this point, you won't want to turn off the console. If you liked Octopath Traveler, you'll definitely enjoy Bravely Default 2. If you are not a fan of turn-based, lengthy JRPGs, you should reconsider the purchase.

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Rune Factory 4 Special takes the player into a magical world full of adventure and challenges. If you want to fill your virtual existence with fieldwork and explore the story of Selphia, the game will not disappoint you. The learning process is slow and steady, so that the player is not overwhelmed. When you've had enough of gardening, you swing on an animal and ride through the wilderness, beating up some monsters. The fighting could have been a little more challenging, but Rune Factory 4 Special doesn't want that. The title shines with a mix of simulation and RPG elements. This appeals to people who may not otherwise be involved with JRPGs. The new features are well done, especially the synchronisation is impressive. The developer would have liked to add some more graphic elements. The sprites look partly not well ported. If you feel like a fine mixture of Harvest Moon and JRPG, you will definitely get your money's worth.

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