The Enemy Within is less unpleasant than Guardians of the Galaxy or Minecraft: Story Mode in the same way catching a cold is less unpleasant than getting a full-blown flu. [06/2018, p.48]

Assassin's Creed meets Grand Theft Auto in the world of Pirates of the Caribbean and tells the story with Uncharted's flair. No, it's too good to be true. Simple gameplay mechanics, plain character models with lifeless faces, weak voice acting, faulty camera and bugs make BackStab a disappointment. [August 2011, p.74]

Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree is a moderately successful soulslike game and is far from perfect. The game's biggest flaws turn out to be the unpleasant platforming elements and the repetitive minibosses.

The PS5 version of Persona 5 Royal is the best edition of one of the greatest games of the previous generation. However, is a set of DLCs and an upgrade to 60 frames per second worth paying the price the publisher is asking? I don’t think it is. Someone should break into Atlus’s Palace and change the hearts of the management, because this rip-off is distasteful.

The longer I played this game, the less I enjoyed it. [05/2014, p.72]

Origins can be a lot of fun, but the game lacks freshness and boldness. The mechanics turn out to be underdeveloped and glaring with numerous bugs. Commandos fans will find something to enjoy here, but it is not the refreshing breath the genre needed.

It was pleasant to relive the birth of one of the most important franchise of the PS2 era... but it’s Resident Evil 2 that shows how one should remaster an older game these days. [03/2019, p.51]

Infinite is a case study on how not to make crossovers. The story mode is really poorly written and if you don’t already know and like the characters, you’ll just waste your time. What’s worse, almost every element of the game is similarly weak. The result is a mediocre game that wastes the potential of its solid combat system. [12/2017, p.54]

A low-budget game with mediocre visuals and audio, laughable story and very basic gameplay which somehow turns out to be addictive as hell. [05/2017, p.42]

There is a fear in Firaxis to truly revolutionize the gameplay and it’s a shame that Gathering Storm’s potentially exciting new mechanics actually modify it ever so slightly. [03/2019, p.52]

I see this game as a tech demo of a good physics engine that can be put to a sensible use in some bigger project. The only thing you'll remember having played through Hydrophobia is that water played it's part brilliantly. [June 2011, p.66]

Gone Home developers tackle the issue of corporate hell aboard futuristic space station. Unfortunately their sentimental style does not go along with the brutally down-to-earth (oh, the irony!) subject too well. [10/2017, p.67]

Mythos failed to win me over for long. Having played through the early stages with two characters past level 10 I faced the necessity to laboriously grind my way up to level 20 and beyond – and that depleted my reserves of time and enthusiasm quickly. I don't regret all those hours spent with Mythos but I just don't intend to spend any more. [June 2011, p.68]

A boring, repetitive and generic action game that's just a shadow of what I believe it should have been. I can recommend it only to Warhammer 40,000 maniacs. [October, p.56]

The beginning of Atlas Fallen is simply awful but later, when the story unleashes the player on the open world, the adventure becomes more interesting. The game features a clever character development system, dynamic combat and very enjoyable exploration, but the developers forgot to polish all the other elements, which sadly represent the level of lower-budget sandboxes from a decade or two ago.

I wish Mirage were the game I’ve been waiting for as a fan of the franchise, but it’s not. The developers’ desire to make it similar gameplay-wise to classic installments of the series is obvious and welcome, but as a whole, this is a surprisingly bland product with an average story, poorly written NPCs and embarrassingly weak dialogues. Moreover, Basim’s adventures do not bring anything valuable to the series. It’s a hollow, shallow and basically unnecessary game developed to showcase the Middle Eastern setting.

The game is short (2-3 hours) but had it been longer, babysitting the two-year-old could have become a burden instead of an adventure worth experiencing. [08/2014, p.71]

Broken Roads is narratively competent, philosophically aware and relatively complex in terms of dialogues, while the moral compass mechanic stimulates the player intellectually. However, all the other elements of the game are not as exciting (or even solid) and gameplay is marred by bugs.

Aerena does not overwhelm you with rich content or impress with technical ingenuity, but it works well in the most crucial area, offering a deep tactical gameplay. [08/2014, p.73]

Thanks to its Warhammer 40,000 setting you won't confuse Necromunda with any other FPS and the design and scale of the environments are impressive. For a simple, old-school shooter, it also offers surprisingly deep and fun character development and weapon customization options. It’s a game of contrasts though, and I can't hide my disappointment with terrible enemy AI, mediocre bonus missions, poor character models, rough animations, crude visuals, and god-awful equipment screen. [08/2021, p.36]

Valhalla had many flaws typical for Ubisoft’s titles, but it was easy for me to turn a blind eye to them, because the game was simply enjoyable. Wrath of the Druids lacks that quality. Ireland is pretty but lifeless and artificial, the story is bland, few new features fail to evolve the gameplay, and the whole thing is just more of the same. [08/2021, p.37]

I had an impression Digital Extremes wants to make a deal. They pretend to have developed a great game (which they haven’t) and I was supposed to pretend I’m having great time (which I didn’t). [CD-Action 06/2013, p.54]

Child of Eden is an abstract interactive music video trying to induce the state of synesthesia. This significant journey is short though – all the game's 'worlds' can be discovered in two hours. It's hard for me to recommend the game to anyone but dance music enthusiasts who are additionally able to hear red C-sharp vibrate hypnotically. [June 2011, p.83]

The graphics have been refreshed beautifully, but I don't think it is a necessary change, as the original still stands up well. Not mentioning the optimisation problems and the exaggerated price... Eh, Sony, why are you doing this to yourself?

Desync is a niche game that has no chance to appeal to wider audience. Most people will quickly grow tired of its unforgiving difficulty level and return to Doom or Shadow Warrior. Those interested in overcoming their limitations however will enjoy it. [05/2017, p.62]

The biggest advantage of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 is that it lets you play the early installments of the series on modern platforms. As a fan of the franchise, I enjoyed additional content such as Master Books, screenplays, visual novels, and the soundtrack, but unfortunately this is not enough to rave about this bundle. Konami could have done much, much more for these classics but didn’t and missed the opportunity to reach younger players with them.

It's basically the same game we had fun with a year ago – it features the same city and almost the same story with a new main character. It's not a bad game but I can recommend it only to the diehard fans of the series. [November 2011, p.61]

The whole ‘turning your console into an HD arcade’ feature is a hogwash (pixels look like paving slabs and there are black stripes on the sides of the screen), but it’s a nice blast from the past. [CD-Action 06/2013, p.65]