XGN.nl's Reviews
Samba de Amigo Party Central is a great time thanks to its accessible controls, local coop fun and the huge amount of songs to enjoy. The difficulty is a bit inconsistent however.
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The Teal Mask could have been a great expansion for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet if Game Freak had taken the time it needed to address and fix the overwhelming amount of issues that still plague the overall package. The fun stories and great Kitakami area make for some good fun if you can look past the technical troubles.
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Phoenix Labs has delivered a magical, inclusive game with many useful features that lead to a stressfree and fun experience. The NPCs feel a bit shallow, but that doesn’t take too much away from the game.
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Armored Core 6 is a nice diversion from the Souls games for From Games. The return to modular mechs allows players to experiment with wildly different builds. Sadly, the game feels very unbalanced. It throws very hard bosses at you when you're unprepared and underpowered, while not challenging you enough when you finally reach enough freedom to build an AC to suit your style.
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Norn9: Last Era is a fine game for fans of the franchise as well as newcomers thanks to some great voice acting, great characters and beautifull music. The prelude is a bit long though, which might scare some people of.
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Immortals of Aveum adds some fresh twists to the formula, but mostly sticks to the basics of the fps genre. The worldbuilding and overall presentation look great, and shooting the different kinds of magic powers feels responsive and fun. But there are some flaws that do retract from the overall experience. The story goes all over the place in terms of tone, and performance wise there is still a lot of progress to be made. In between all the 2023 heavy hitters, Immortals sadly just falls a bit flat.
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If you are looking for a co-op game, but don't have anything in mind yet, Moving Out 2 is highly recommended! And if you like Overcooked's games, these are also games that you will certainly enjoy.
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Starfield is a Bethesda RPG in every sense of the word. It offers a large, rich and intriguing world, filled with sidequests and a mysterious main story. The possibility to enter your spaceship and explore the galaxy and fight space pirates is really fun. It has however a few strange bugs, the graphics can change a lot and firefights miss something extra. We’re certain though that RPG fans can easily spend hundreds of hours in Starfield.
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Baldur's Gate 3 shows that you can build a massive game of over a hundred hours and still give your players lots of freedom, while keeping the quests interesing and engaging. The writing and acting are top notch. You do need some understanding of Dungeons & Dragons or Divinity for a smooth transition, though. And bugs can occasionally mess you up.
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In this big open world there is plenty to see, do and experience. Atlas Fallen is full of puzzles and treasures. You can play the game alone or with a friend. The navigation works very organically and if you pick up the game again after a long break, you can find a short and concise tutorial list in your journal. This way you can quickly pick up the adventure without too much hassle. As far as we’re concerned, this game is easy to recommend.
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Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart was already a beautiful game on the PlayStation 5 and Nixxes Software managed to improve it on PC. The game looks absolutely astonishing and fluid, as if you are walking an Pixar movie. And not only can you enjoy the interdimensional adventure with a controller, the controls for mouse and keyboard are really well implemented. It's just a shame that the PC port has problems with certain hardware combinations.
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Disney Illusion Island is an entertaining game, whether you play alone or with up to four friends. The platforming action is smooth and flawless from the start and you don't even miss defeating enemies. The only cons here are the small screen of the Switch and the little flaws in the co-op mode.
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Remnant II takes the shooting souls-like core of the original game, and builds upon it on almost all fronts. From building your perfect build by mixing archetypes, to exploring the diverse selection of beautifully crafted worlds, Remnant II gives you plenty of secrets to discover. The gunplay also feels really solid, although the overall experience does get hurt by a fluctuating difficulty and a scarcity of weapons for a FPS souls like, especially in the early game.
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Synapse is the new standard for VR FPS. thanks to teh clever use of force feedback and eye tracking, you feel like you're inside the action. The combination of eye tracking and telekinesis is simply delightful and this is the closest we've felt to being a true force wielder. the clever use of your offhand for navigation, telekinesis and climbing/hiding is brilliant and works like a charm. If we have to complain a bit, we would love some more variety to the weapons used.
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Compared to newer farming games Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is somewhat slow. This can lead to some frustrations, yet at the same time it gives you a sense of peace, something which is very welcome in today’s often rushed society. If A Wonderful Life had added more things to do, this slowness would’ve probably been a lot less noticeable. The characters, who are the heart and soul of the game, are the saving grace. They make you want to keep returning to Forgotten Valley.
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Aliens Dark Descent is a fresh RTS-adventure that stays true to the Aliens roots, whilst building upon its foundations. The squad based tactical action feels fresh, and gets intense pretty quickly when out in the field. Traversing the multi-run stages is engaging, but multiple technical flaws do hinder the game from reaching its full potential.
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Final Fantasy XVI is a complete package with a refreshingly mature storyline, full of surprises that keeps raising the stakes. The switch to real-time fights is daring step, but works most of the time, as long as the graphical effects don't blur what's going on. The game can be greatily adapted to facilitate those that mostly play for the story, but also those that are looking for a real challenge. The most epic fights, those between the Eikons, are visually impressive, but a bit too hands-off.
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Land of the Morning Light is a change of pace for Black Desert, but it works pretty well. The folklore stories are beautiful and set players up for the endgame-system, altough new players don't learn a lot about combat. The new area is also beautiful, with traditional Korean architecture and gorgeous sceneries. And the expansion is free for all players!
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Farming Simulator 23 for Switch balances between two extremities. The game offers a solid farming experience that can be enjoyed endlessly, but, as it is based on the mobile version, it's also very limited. It doesn't offer the freedom which makes Farming Simulator great. Without mods, limited vehicles and fixed layouts, you're trapped in the base functionalities without the possibility of experimentation or expansion.
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This game was clearly a challenge too big for the developer and they should have been saved from this embarrasment. This game doesn't do the Lord of the Rings franchise, Daedalic or Nacon any favors and it would be best if they avoid games of this size and for a while. With its extremely poor character design, lackluster, boring gameplay and bug ridden mess, this is one title even the biggest LotR fan should avoid.
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