Unlike Dynasty Warriors 9 released in 2018, Empires focuses mainly on free play. Battles took the form of conquering enemy fortresses – it’s a breath of fresh air, but the AI copes with this new premise poorly. The graphics are disappointing as well, but despite many flaws the game is highly addictive.

Dragon Age: Veilguard leaves us with the impression that we bought the wrong title. Instead of a true RPG, we get a mediocre action adventure game. A scenario stretched to the limit, a poorly constructed world and monotonous gameplay bored me to tears.

While Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a decent introduction to the world of Eiyuden Chronicle, it fails to use its full potential. More complex combat and varied side quests would have made it a much better experience.

I do not mind simplicity as long as there’s something valuable underneath it. Samorost 3 can only offer great visuals and for me that is not enough. [06/2016, p.57]

There are some well-designed and well-realized elements in Dead Age II and at first I was certain it’s going to be fun. After 8 hours I was already tired of repetitiveness and relentless grind which overshadowed everything that was done right. [06/2021, p.70]

Usually I’m not into artsy little indie games, but I was ready to fall in love with Feist. Unfortunately it didn’t want to love me back. Its difficulty level turned tension that I welcomed in the beginning of the adventure into frustration that prevented me from enjoying this beautiful, atmospheric game as much as I hoped to. [10/2015, p.53]

After insanely intense Doom Eternal it was somewhat strange to revisit much calmer Doom 3. Back in the day I loved its slower pace and horror atmosphere though, so I was excited to return to the UAC facility. It is still a decent game, but it’s quite ugly even compared to other PS VR shooters and it was hell-bent on giving me motion sickness (there’s no option to replace fluid movement with teleportation). [06/2021, p.71]

If Skydive’s flight ends in a bargain bin, you can give it a try. Otherwise there are so many great games to play. [13/2013, p.71]

Stitchy is a decent game, but way too conservative. It doesn’t even try to peek outside the genre’s basics and standards. I think younger players will enjoy it, but older platformer fans will probably get bored. [07/2021, p.41]

The game failed to win me over because its simplicity was taken too far. [12/2015, p.64]

Released 16 years after The Guild 2, the third entry in the series disappoints. Dated graphics, simplified gameplay, unintuitive interface and various other flaws greatly diminish its substantial potential. The Guild 3 spent six years in Early Access and judging by its state, it should have spent there an additional year or two.

An enjoyable F2P fighting game that’s a bit scant in terms of content and reaches into your wallet as often as possible without crossing the border into the pay-to-win territory. [09/2015, p.58]

Candy Crush Jelly Saga will not replace a balanced gaming diet. [03/2016, p.73]

A tribute to Dark Souls done with a deep understanding of the original game, but ugly and derivative as hell. [06/2016, p.61]

I love the game’s visual style, but the developers’ idea to essentially get rid of written text and make the player work out all the gameplay mechanics by himself sometimes works fine and sometimes feels like an unnecessary nuisance. I was also annoyed by the awkward menu and the fact that a game with such simple graphics can’t maintain a stable framerate. [07/2021, p.54]

Lightning returns for the last time, as a PC port, and wow, Japanese do not understand computers at all. Not even mouse support!? [02/2016, p.59]

Copying your own ideas is not a sin, but what worked well in a larger open-world adventure, doesn’t necessarily hold up paired with a linear story. A remake created from scratch, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is a decent game but also a significant step backwards compared to Chapter One.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is still a very good fighting game, but this new version is not even a remaster. It’s a simple port that further exposes weaknesses of the original game’s aged graphics (forget about a dedicated PS5 version, by the way). Putting a heavy emphasis on the story is not a problem per se, but the way P4AU tells it doesn’t fit the genre and will confuse those not acquainted with the main Persona series.

The concept behind The Invisible Hand is interesting, but sooner or later the game’s blunt anticapitalistic message becomes annoying, while the graphics gave me nightmares. [07/2021, p.63]

Stardew Valley fans will feel right at home in this charming and beautiful game. Unfortunately, the more I played, the more flaws I noticed (e.g. fetch quests being the main course) and the more I was annoyed by poor optimization. Problems with the latter intensified as my base grew and they’re the main reason I couldn’t rate Cozy Grove higher. [07/2021, p.70]

Kill it With Fire is one of those “so dumb it’s kinda fun” experiences. The game is very simple, intentionally ugly, and unpretentious, which makes killing house spiders with over-the-top weapons (explosives, flame thrower, shotgun, etc.) pretty enjoyable for around two hours. [11/2020, p.76]

Destruction AllStars is flashy, fast and enjoyable, looks good and runs smoothly, but severely lacks varied, engaging content and therefore quickly becomes boring. [04/2021, p.44]

I have no idea how the developers managed to waste such an intriguing beginning of the story. They clearly forgot that a good horror game should relentlessly keep players on the edge of their seats, not ruin the atmosphere with pathetic jokes. [03/2017, p.59]

Hrot draws from Quake, Duke and Blood but does it half-heartedly and due to the setting resembles the forgotten You Are Empty more than the aforementioned classics. It holds its own in terms of level design, but you can feel it was developed by just one person.

I’m not saying you need to play Milkmaid, but if you enjoy traditional point’n’click games and pixel art, you definitely can give it a chance. [03/2017, p.64]

The concept behind Aeronautica Imperialis’ turn-based tactical gameplay is neat (your and enemy units move simultaneously, so you need to do your best to predict enemy behavior) but right now I can recommend the game to hardcore Warhammer 40K fans only. Everyone else should wait for the developers to add much more content and variety, because in its current state the game gets boring after an hour. [10/2020, p.80]

A game that combines ideas from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus sounds like something PC players desperately needed. Unfortunately, the three-person team behind Praey for the Gods bit off more than it could chew. The game’s survival elements are tiresome, while boss encounters are decent but plagued by many flaws. Overall, it’s a barely solid copy of Team Ico’s cult classic

The story bored me before the actual game even started and then I was forced to explore uninspired, ugly interiors and kill wacky monsters in fights that take forever. [09/2015, p.69]