Gameffine's Reviews
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the best revisit to the nostalgic experience and truly pivots to be the OG Assassin’s Creed game. With the city of Baghdad being highly detailed and dense, the game will often keep you hooked on how magical the city looks and feels. The combat is light but makes you prefer stealth since each area is well-designed, allowing multiple approaches and infiltration opportunities. The game’s story may not be the most memorable, especially with the shorter length, but the closure leaves more options for future content.
Among all the AAA blockbusters of Q2 and Q3, Wandering Sword was released, sandwiched between Armored Core 6 and Baldur’s Gate 3. However, it is slowly garnering attention from hardcore RPG fans. With a well-thought-out narrative, it might even hold a newcomer’s attention, but the plot takes some time to get into gear. That and the nigh easy combat might put many off if they are looking for a challenge. Despite these issues, Wandering Sword is a must-play entry in every RPG lover’s book.
The Crew Motorfest is genuinely what the name suggests – a Festival celebrating motor vehicles. With insane graphics and detailed vehicles, every ride or race becomes a solid experience that stays with you. Having many custom-designed mainstream content and creators’ collaboration took us by surprise. But even after the main story, you get a brand new theme each week and the constantly rotating multiplayer races. The Upgrade parts may force you to grind more to win more.
The Valiant is a strategy game marred with a number of problems. Players have the option of avoiding it or picking it up on a sale if they really want to try it out. The game brings back unhappy memories of Dawn of War 2 and how badly it failed, even though The Valiant does have some positive points to write home in its favor including its historical setting. Nevertheless, this is definitely not the game I’ll recommend if someone asks me for strategy game recommendations at a party.
Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways DLC surpasses its original counterpart in almost every regard by introducing a more cohesive and fleshed-out take on Ada’s side story. It leverages its linearity with its no-nonsense take on a bombastic campaign that not only compliments the events of Leon’s story but also hints at the series’ possible future paths. By introducing Ada’s grappling hook, it re-invents its combat and traversal in a non-tedious way but leaves little room for backtracking. It is easily the best downloadable content we’ve had in 2023.
FC 24 truly leaps in making the most realistic football game to date. From the intricate facial details to pitch wear, there is no room for errors. However, the game has minimum changes to its predecessor; just like before, the focus is on the Ultimate Team Multiplayer part instead of all game modes. Overall, apart from graphics, everything stayed the same.
Remnant 2 is a massive improvement over its predecessor thanks to fine-tuned gunplay, build customization, the massive amount of content, and excellent co-op support. It’s been a while since we’ve played a co-op action title that feels like it deserves the asking price (looking at you, Darktide). Whether you’re a Souls veteran or a casual player, Remnant 2 has something for you in store.
TT Isle of Man: Ride on The Edge 3 is a nerve-wracking high-speed, precision-based superbike racing game set on the actual tournaments of Traveller trophy at the Isle of Man. The accuracy of the physics and the newly introduced teams and liveries are a plus, but the disappointing graphics and lack of more content take a few points away.
Atlas Fallen is an action-packed RPG game with a storyline that starts slow, but the action-packed combat keeps it interesting. The co-op aspect has worked perfectly, and it is a blast to play with a friend. The fetch-and-grab quests, disappointing voiceovers, and writings make the game shine less than its true potential. To defeat a god is no easy perk, but you better wait for a sale before embarking on this adventure.
Chants of Sennaar is a beautifully crafted adventure-puzzle indie game with a captivating art style, soulful soundtrack and core puzzle-solving experience that rewards every effort. Although it may lack a few hints and helps players new to the genre, it is easier to track and progress if you spend enough time. For everyone interested in puzzle or indie games, we highly recommend Chants of Sennaar as your next pick.
While Red Dead Redemption is a spectacular masterpiece on its own, its PlayStation 4 port hardly brings anything new to the table with a steep price tag of its own. While it’s a huge missed opportunity after a decade-long wait, it’s nice that more modern systems besides Xbox consoles can finally play this piece of art. As for the recommendation, you should pick this up while it is on sale or wait for the possible PC and PS5 ports that may hit the stores next year.
If only Fort Solis was half as good as its trailers. One would expect a mind-boggling psychological thriller set on an isolated Martian colony, but there’s barely anything until three chapters into the game, and there are a total of four chapters! The only plus point of Fort Solis might be its extremely short length, (because you’d be screaming for this game to end), but the lack of sprint coupled with tedious walking sequences would make it a slow burn. TL;DR… give Fort Solis a hard pass, even on sale!
Immortals of Aveum is a work of art and truly reflects the ideas and love the game has been made with. The FPS magical shooter may have a worrying start, but that quickly turns into excitement, followed by a crucial turn of events, keeping you hooked. The combat and enemy variety grows as your progress, controlling the flow of combat enjoyable throughout. Topped with excellent voiceovers from talented artists and a brilliant hip-hop-styled ambience, Immortals of Aveum was a big box of surprises for us.
Blasphemous 2 is the perfect sequel fans could ever ask for. The sequel doubles down on everything Blasphemous is beloved for, and then proceeds to add a slew of new features. The result is a beautifully rendered action platformer with challenging combat, varied character builds, rewarding exploration, a plethora of side content and some great music. I would have liked to see more epic screen-filling boss fights, some post-campaign modes and reasonable regional pricing, but I guess the last wish is not up to the developer. Team17, if you’re reading this, fix your prices. Blasphemous 2 is a gem of a game otherwise.
Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition is hands down one of the best remasters ever made that will no doubt please all fans yearning for a sourceport. It’s one of the rare cases when the recreation outshines the original product. Rise of the Triad may be a divisive game, but there’s nothing divisive about Ludicrous Edition. Nightdive has once again upped the standards for remasters. If you’re a fan of the original, Ludicrous Edition is a must-buy at full price. If you’re wanting to try the game for the first time, try out the demo and see if it’s for you. They hardly make games like these anymore.
Venba is a gorgeous-looking, sonically-rich game with minimal gameplay but a heartfelt and nuanced story about cultural identity, parenthood, and self-acceptance that more than makes up for it. A couple of omitted accessibility features and the short length aside, Venba is a beautiful representation of the immigrant experience, messiness and all, thus cleverly avoiding glorification in favor of authenticity.
As it stands in its current state, Arcadian Atlas is rather difficult to recommend. Despite its rather serviceable plot and great visuals, the game struggles a lot due to its rather mismatched battle classes, where ranged combat reigns superior to melee. With some quality-of-life improvements in its combat and navigation, this title might get the second chance it deserves.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is an appreciable attempt from a small team of devs who are well-versed in its legacy. Huge character variety, Tag system and the Roguelite elements are welcome additions to the long-stagnant IP, and it can be a genuinely fun game at times. However, it does not always hit the right notes. A criminally short campaign, the lack of additional gameplay modes and the TBA online co-op makes it a tough sell when SoR and TMNT have offer so much more at a cheaper price point. If I were you, I’d wait for some content updates before taking the plunge.
Rather than being outright terrible, the problem with Testament is that everything is mediocre to the point of being utterly boring. The ideas are there but it doesn’t quite stick the landing. At least, the game is perfectly playable from start to finish. Definitely not worth the asking price and as it currently stands, not worth your time either. Hopefully, the developer can come up with a more cohesive product the second time around.
System Shock (2023) is a fantastic remake of the groundbreaking 1994 original with an eagle eye for attention. Above everything else, it’s a love letter to the original made by folks who knew the ins and outs of the Looking Glass classic. The striking visual design, rewarding exploration, challenging puzzles, and a menacing performance by Terri Brosius make System Shock not just a great remake, but one of the best games of this year. The wait was worth it.