Gaming Professors

Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission VR is one of those games that’s hard to praise, yet it doesn’t deserve ridicule or harsh criticism either. While it pales in comparison to the better titles in its genre, it still manages to provide decent entertainment. It can therefore be recommended mainly to players who enjoy on-rails VR shooters and appreciate even the more average ones. Or to beginners who will appreciate the low difficulty level.

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SlavicPunk: Oldtimer is a fairly average isometric shooter based on the works of Michał Gołkowski, specifically his SybirPunk novels. The game’s story and setting offer a pleasant cyberpunk atmosphere, shaped by the graphics, sound design, and gameplay. Unfortunately, there’s no option to upgrade your character, complete side quests, or interact more with the environment. The game is also dragged down by various bugs that can really ruin the experience. However, if you’re a fan of the genre, you might still enjoy the title, even though you’ll feel like its potential has been wasted.

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Pets Hotel definitely has potential, but for me personally, it feels slower-paced than other simulation games. Add to that a lengthy tutorial and repetitive challenges, and after a few hours, you’ll surely start to get bored, just like I did. Unfortunately, not even the cute animal animations can save the game. It would definitely benefit from a story mode, because otherwise it will only keep you entertained for a weekend or two.

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Cats and the Other Lives offers a well-written story with charming visuals and an unusual perspective from the main character. As a game that blends point-and-click adventure with a 2D walking simulator, it’s entertaining, but the plot’s resolution is predetermined, and you have absolutely no influence over it. On your second playthrough, you’ll enjoy all the details you missed before, collect the rest of the achievements, and then you’ll likely have no reason to return to the game. However, a little emotional appeal from the developers might help you make up your mind, as part of their earnings goes toward surgeries for stray cats.

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Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise fails to live up to expectations and receives a poor rating. It doesn’t have many strengths to outweigh its weaknesses, which include visual flaws, clunky controls, and monotonous gameplay. Unless you’re a big fan of the series, you can skip this installment.

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Deflector is an action-packed rogue-lite that manages to make a surprisingly strong impression in its genre. With procedurally generated levels, intense combat, and the ability to deflect projectiles, it offers an uncompromising challenge for players brave enough to venture into this virus-infested microcosm. Although the game’s story is rather peripheral and the chaos on the battlefield is defined by an occasionally frustrating difficulty, the variety of character abilities, combined with an addictive gameplay loop, can be the light at the end of the tunnel.

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Unfortunately, Fire Commander has a very slow and unengaging start, which may well put off many players right from the beginning. At its core, it’s a rather average strategy game, but—at least in my opinion—it’s original in its own way and can even be pleasantly surprising over time. However, if you’re not into games centered around emergency services, I’d venture to say this isn’t for you.

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Lunacy: Saint Rhodes is an enjoyable short horror game with a chilling story about one unfortunate family. The game offers two different endings, so you have the chance to find all the diary entries and photos of the Rhodes family members. I definitely recommend this game for its graphics and sound design, its story, and some truly terrifying jump scares. If you enjoy horror games, puzzles, and mysterious stories, you definitely shouldn’t miss this title.

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The new RIDE 5 builds successfully on its 2020 predecessor and offers several major improvements, such as the return of split-screen mode and the implementation of dynamically changing weather. There have also been minor changes to the driving and physics models, and of course to the visuals, which—despite the progress made—unfortunately still fall short in some respects. What also bothers me about RIDE 5 is the odd artificial intelligence and the lack of racing modes, whose frequent repetition can feel a bit repetitive in career mode. Even so, we can recommend RIDE 5 with a clear conscience to all fans of racing simulations. From us at Gaming Professors, the game earns seven out of ten points.

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The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales features absolutely enchanting worlds brimming with stories, characters, and all sorts of details. I definitely enjoyed exploring everything right through to the end. Of course, I could have used a few more books, so I’m hoping the developers will release some DLC. If you love books with stories that pull you in, this game is made just for you.

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F1 Manager 2023 is a welcome evolution of the previous installment, retaining the solid gameplay of its predecessor while adding new details and modes that take the overall experience a step further. On the other hand, there aren’t enough changes to make it worth it for owners of last year’s F1 Manager 2022 to invest in the new installment. I recommend they wait for next year’s edition or at least for a discount. However, if you haven’t encountered this series yet, F1 Manager 2023 is the clear choice for you. Just be aware that if you have no experience with the world of F1 or other management sims, you might feel a bit lost at first until you figure everything out. But that makes it all the more fun once you get the hang of the game. As far as we’re concerned, the title, like its predecessor, earns seven and a half points out of ten.

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Atlas Fallen is fast-paced, runs exactly as it should, has a perfect combat system, and offers a new and interesting world. Unfortunately, the main story is terribly repetitive and more or less lifeless. While there are beautiful views and surfing on the sand is awesome, there really aren’t many options. You can finish the game in under fifteen hours, even if you complete the side quests. The game can entertain anyone who doesn’t want to get bogged down in games that take hundreds of hours but wants a solid two- to three-day gaming session. If the developers decide to expand their world, I’d recommend they really add some color to it—I’ve had enough of yellow teeth from all the sand.

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Fall of Porcupine seems to have an interesting message and attempts to portray a certain issue in modern society through a playable story. Although it has several positive aspects, such as its visual style and emotional scenes, it also has significant technical shortcomings. The gameplay sometimes feels monotonous and lacks interaction or any effort to engage the player. Thanks to its unusual theme, the game could be interesting, but for now, my recommendation is to wait for a few updates and further improvements from the developers.

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Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is a game full of mixed feelings. On the one hand, I appreciate the developers’ desire to bring something new, great, and well-executed to the table. Ultimately, what stands out most about the game are its peculiar visuals and excellent audio. What hurts the game the most is the lack of a minimap and the pointless crafting and character upgrades, which I still can’t figure out why they’re even there. But if you’re a fan of martial arts and crazy super moves and combos, you’ve found the game for you.

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Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is ultimately a game that brings this iconic—though long-neglected—series back among the genre’s elite. Some players may take a while to get used to the cute art style, others will be disappointed by the lack of online multiplayer, and still others will point out minor flaws, such as weaker platforming sections. However, even skeptics will be easily won over by the game’s well-designed combat system and solid replay value.

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But if you’d like to enjoy the adventure using the DualSense controller, you can. The PC version supports the official PlayStation controller, including haptic feedback, so Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart doesn’t fall short in this regard either. And that brings us to the end of our review; now nothing stands in the way of evaluating this game and assigning it a final score.

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Ready or Not is a fun and realistic tactical shooter with a wide variety of missions and locations. Despite a few shortcomings in the AI behavior of its opponents, it offers enjoyable and engaging opportunities to play with both bots and real partners. The game is still in its early stages, so we can expect some of these issues to be addressed in the future. However, Ready or Not can be a good choice if you want a realistic and full-fledged experience packed with strategy.

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The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition, despite its initial issues, is a fantastic remaster that brings this intriguing 2019 Fallout-style game to PC and next-gen consoles without compromising on quality or polish. It’s just a shame about a few minor issues and, in particular, the baffling pricing strategy Obsidian has adopted for this enhanced version. If you haven’t played The Outer Worlds yet and are planning to, go ahead and invest in the Spacer’s Choice Edition, which includes all content, including the two story expansions. You should definitely invest in this edition even if you own the base game and both story DLCs. For ten euros, this upgrade is definitely worth it. However, if you fall into the third group—meaning you own the base game but none or only one story DLC—you’ll first need to purchase the missing content from the original edition or pay the full price for the Spacer’s Choice Edition. It’s definitely worth purchasing the missing content from the original game and then taking advantage of the ten-euro upgrade option. Personally, however, I recommend waiting for a sale, as the original DLCs can be more than 50% cheaper during sales. It’s a real shame that Obsidian didn’t offer a more affordable bundle for this player base as well. I believe that such a move would have paid off more for them in the long run. Despite all that, the revamped The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition is a great achievement, and on behalf of us at Gaming Professors, I’m giving it a splendid eight out of ten.

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Empires of the Undergrowth is an original and ambitious RTS project that offers a glimpse into the brutal animal kingdom. The game requires careful planning and logical thinking. You must protect the queen and ensure the expansion of your colony. The models of animals and various insects are well-done, and combined with sound effects and music, they create a great atmosphere. However, as an RTS, it lacks the tactical elements you might expect from classic strategy games.

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Jagged Alliance 3 is undoubtedly one of the best titles in the turn-based tactical RPG genre. This game has just about everything that great old-school games offered—a long, non-linear campaign, excellent tactical elements, the ability to choose your own playstyle, the option to aim where you want during combat, a huge variety of distinct characters with their own personalities, and high replay value. The game’s graphics are perfect, and the atmosphere is enhanced by excellent sound design and a great soundtrack. What knocks the game off its imaginary throne is poor optimization, occasionally unbalanced difficulty, and a slightly clunky user interface. Even so, it’s a great title that fans of the genre—and especially players of the original Jagged Alliance—will appreciate.

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