Despite new setting it’s obvious from the start who made this game. If you enjoyed Gothic or Risen series, you will probably have fun with Elex, because you’re used to turning a blind eye to numerous problems infesting Piranha Bytes’ titles. You will just have to give the story enough time to pick up speed, because the beginning is painfully slow and boring. [12/2017, p.74]

Multitude and diversity of interactions between characters are Dead in Vinland’s notable strengths but excessive impact of RNG on almost everything I did both disheartened me and robbed me of satisfaction. In addition random failures have negative effects on your characters, so you get caught in a spiral of hopelessness. The noose tightens. Despair knocks on your door. Death looks you in the eye. If you enjoy such pressure, give this Nordic tale a try. [06/2018, p.76]

This Gloria Victis spin-off is literally a This War of Mine gone medieval. It’s a tale of a bunch of civilians trying to survive a war, and many gameplay mechanics were clearly inspired by the 11 bit studios game. I really liked the fresh concept of helping to defend the stronghold by supporting soldiers with resources instead of actually participating in battles, but awful enemy AI and dull story made it impossible for me to truly enjoy the experience. [08/2021, p.40]

Solar Sails’ debut captivates mainly with its atmosphere and graphic style – similar to the most interesting works of Zoink! and Image & Form. And that is why, despite some of its shortcomings, I ultimately spent three pleasant evenings with it. [03/2019, p.76]

Looks like Larian Studios had a lot of ideas regarding gameplay but instead of choosing the best one they decided to utilise all of them. As a result Dragon Commander was stitched together from elements that don’t necessary fit each other. [CD-Action 10/2013, p.46]

Over a dozen hours of spatial environmental puzzles consisting of avoiding patrols and finding paths to objectives. Cyanide failed to push the series forward in any aspect but still managed to deliver a solid stealth game. [05/2017, p.68]

If you value interesting co-op Helldivers is worth checking out, but the developers should have used 10 months since the release of the original PS4 versions to improve the camera and tackle the repetitiveness. [03/2016, p.51]

God Mode is a likable run-of-the-mill effort that can offer a couple of enjoyable hours, but nothing more. [CD-Action 07/2013, p.64]

Web of Wyrd is the best Hellboy game, but that doesn’t mean it’s great. It’s an undemanding roguelite that can provide a couple of hours of simple, rather repetitive entertainment. However, it has strong points too, namely the atmosphere and the art style which makes it look like Mike Mignola’s comic book in motion.

Apart from the great Starfighter Assault mode Battlefront II is a mess of conflicting ideas, uneven mechanics and of course questionable monetization practices. DICE is facing long months of salvaging the game and the studio’s good name. [01/2018, p.32]

I liked many new features and I think going back to the roots of the series was a the right decision. Unfortunately it seems the game was published half a year too soon, as it’s underdeveloped, full of bugs (some of which are very serious) and has performance issues. To put it simply – Heroes VII was botched. [12/2015, p.34]

I could not shake the feeling that gameplay changes were introduced only to justify publishing a new FIFA. I launched brilliant FIFA 14 for comparison and could not believe how much the designers lost their way. Why try too hard to reinvent something almost perfect instead of just polishing it? [Dec 2014, p.58]

This crazy, controversial open-world mix of Postal and a geriatric GTA puts you in a role of a senior citizen who escapes from a care facility and starts wreaking havoc in a city that hates the elderly. It’s fun for a while, but over-the-top violence and exaggerated ragdoll get old pretty fast and what’s left are awful controls, outdated graphics, poor optimization and a bunch of various other flaws. [08/2021, p.59]

If you’re a fan of the Leisure Suit Larry series (or at least its previous instalment), you will probably enjoy this game, but it’s hard to miss the fact that the quality of jokes and puzzles is a step back in comparison to Wet Dream’s Don’t Dry. [08/2021, p.61]

When Rise of the Triad is just a shooter, it’s a great shooter. Unfortunately it also tries to be a first-person platformer and these segments are awful. [CD-Action 10/2013, p.64]

A decent platformer that will fall into oblivion sooner rather than later. [01/2018, p.49]

I appreciate the effort put into this game, but OpenTTD is free and still unbeaten. [Dec 2014, p.73]

The game’s cardinal sin is that it painfully limits your creativity. Instead of inventing deadly contraptions you mostly recreate those designed by the developers, so you can meet the level completion requirements. [06/2016, p.43]

Decent fun spoiled by poorly designed, frustrating controls and lack of depth. [09/2015, p.47]

As a homage to 16-bit games Insanity’s Blade is great, but its shallow and repetitive gameplay will not blow your mind. Don’t waste your time if you’re not into retro. [03/2014, p.75]

The DLC offers three missions (one of which is simply awful) and falls short of the captivating, emotional story from Last Light. [CD-Action 10/2013, p.73]

A lot of Hitman’s components are of the highest standard, but in my opinion its episodic nature took a heavy toll. I felt the game is fractured and its narrative lacks continuity, because the campaign is not really a campaign, but a series of standalone challenges glued together with some poor, makeshift story. [01/2018, p.52]

I expected a usual Telltale’s game and that’s exactly what I got – another IP squeezed into a worn stencil. I have to praise it for looking visibly better than Telltale’s previous games though. [06/2017, p.69]

To use its whole potential you have to dig deep into your pockets to unlock premium content. The only thing left for the fans of the series is to hope for Age of Empires IV. [November 2011, p.80]

Crossbow: Bloodnight is a fast and smooth arena shooter that doesn’t offer enough content and variety for long sessions, but works well in short, intense ones. Switch seems like a great platform for it but unfortunately neither the Pro Controller nor the Joy-Cons offer the precision that the unforgiving gameplay requires. [04/2021, p.38]

Factions is a teaser of a bigger game and does a rather lousy job at encouraging to check out the main dish. It’s simply boring. [CD-Action 06/2013, p.81]

Gameplay is repetitive, level design is not too good and the player's influence on what's happening is limited, so the game gets boring very fast. [November 2011, p.83]

Retrovirus is strongly inspired by Descent, so its old school gameplay diverges from current standards, which doesn’t have to be a drawback. The game’s biggest strength is how the world looks. [CD-Action 06/2013, p.81]