Despite the frenetic action combat system and the exquisite tactical component represented by the introduction of the cute Cioffi, already in 2018 Ni no Kuni 2: The Destiny of a Kingdom could not fully convince us, due to a cloying and excessively childish story , which among other things entrusted downloadable content with the fundamental task of answering the most interesting questions that remained pending. Including both the base game and its DLCs, the Switch version has at least partially remedied the "shortcomings" of the original version, the only pity that on the hybrid the product is affected by technical problems that are difficult to ignore. Ultimately, the future of the kingdom continues to look anything but rosy.

Ultimately, Lost Judgment is a great sequel, characterized by very inspired writing and a great dose of irreverence. A braver second chapter, more refined and extremely more elegant, which offers the possibility of being played by all those who have never had direct contact with the first episode or with the Yakuza saga. RGG Studio proves once again to be one of the most competent teams on the square, capable of diversifying the gameplay as few, giving full importance to the narrative component of their productions and deliberately omitting some technical details that are however irrelevant for the success of the project. Sure, maybe more could have been done with regards to exploiting the features of Dualsense, but this is more of a wasted opportunity than a real lack.

The arrival on consoles of Apsulov: End of Gods confirms the positive aspects, but also all the negative ones of the original PC release of 2019.

F.I.S.T .: Forged in Shadow Torch is an imperfect production but by no means trivial: a metroidvania that does its own without excelling in any area, in any case denoting a certain expertise on the part of a team that is anything but accustomed to global stages. What is missing are only a bit of an overall vision, a sense of proportion (because the adventure is paradoxically even a thread too long) and a basic balance: sins of youth, however excusable, which cannot really affect the value of a title that can be played with a certain pleasure.

Naraka Bladepoint is not a perfect battle royale, but it manages to mix a series of gameplay mechanics that make it frenetic, fun and above all immediate.

Ultimately it is difficult to promote Baldo, his flaws are obvious and even assuming that all the technical problems are solved by future patches, it would remain the heart of a frustrating and badly balanced experience.

Eastward is not just the dazzling debut title of a very small development studio in Shanghai, just as it is not just a video game that closely resembles the best 2D Zelda in history. Don't call it Zelda-like: not because it's not a formally correct definition but because Pixpil's creature wants to be something more than the classic declaration of love to a title from the past. Eastward is one of the brightest examples of what are the true qualities of independent development: a real pearl that deserves to be discovered, perfectly capable of carving out its space in the niche of instant videogame cult. It is certainly one of the most surprising and impactful experiences of recent years, one of those titles capable of pointing the way to those who will come later.

For those who have not played Madden NFL for a few years, the new episode may be the right opportunity to start over. The Franchise mode has been rearranged and the direction taken seems to be the right one, while the gameplay, waiting for the adjustments in the secondary, is appreciated for a renewed physics in the inertia of the players' movements and for an AI that in more than one opportunity surprised us positively. The magic of the new generation has been little seen for now: Madden NFL 22 is still a good game to watch even if it was legitimate to expect something more. In general, our advice is to wait for EA Tiburon to fix bugs and glitches: time is up and the season has just started.

Deathloop is an original, visionary and courageous work, a playful experiment that returns to reaffirm the unquestionable talent of the Arkane Studios team, which over the years has never stopped putting itself to the test with ever new challenges, often at odds with the commercial logic of the triple A market. The result of the studio's latest creative challenge is a brilliant exercise in game design, at the base of a multifaceted and compelling playful narrative construct, blessed with an absolutely majestic artistic direction. Deathloop is a unique game of its kind, which unfortunately is torn from excellence by some rather important flaws. First of all, a surprisingly lazy and anticlimatic conclusion, which ends up revealing some evident gaps in the script. Even on the playful side, not everything works perfectly, especially due to an artificial intelligence that is not very reactive and too erratic. Net of its missteps, however, Deathloop remains a memorable work, a jumble of style and creativity probably destined to become an instant cult.

Made in Unreal Engine by a single man, Song of Iron is a product that thrives on light and shadow, a certainly remarkable accomplishment that however failed to fully satisfy us on the playful front. Fans of adventures steeped in Norse mythology and out-of-the-box twists would do well to give it a chance - especially if at a discount - but those who expected a more complex and refined experience in terms of platforming and combat system would do well to weigh with attention to the critical issues of the game. Having said that, we hope that Joe Winter and his Resting Relic can follow up on Song of Iron and this time with some extra help, so as to fully exploit the potential of the ideas behind the progenitor.

From the artistic direction to the narration, passing through the combat system, Lost in Random stages a suggestive contrast between order and chaos. A modern dark fairy tale that owes much of its aesthetic to the imagery of Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, Lost in Random will undoubtedly conquer lovers of Tim Burton's works. Capable of entertaining, amusing, but also disturbing, the Indie by Zoink Games is absolutely recommended to all players looking for a good Action Adventure full of ideas and original solutions.

King's Bounty II is composed of many traditional elements fused together in an unconventional way. Rather than melted it would be better to say stuck on top of each other. The amalgam of characteristics and genres is completely disorganized, confused, as if it were the mixture of randomly selected market trends. Taken individually, not all the constituent elements of the game are mediocre, indeed it is quite possible to be captured by the settings or by the combat system. But what is missing is the connection work: the most important operation in a complex product such as a video game. What distinguishes a good video game from a bad one is not the sum of the parts, it is how these parts interact with each other, how they contribute to the realization of a common goal.

A must for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, and absolutely recommended for everyone else, The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti tells with irony and intelligence the path of artistic and inner growth of a talented teenage musician. Through the celestial bodies of the Stupefacosm, the protagonist and the player learn together to follow only the rhythm of their electric guitar, among extraordinarily inspired landscapes. Even in the face of a playful sector that does not represent the fulcrum of the work, the only regret remains a rhythm game soul that could have dared more. But in the face of the power of the proposed experience, we consider it a slight observation that we hope will be heard in a desirable second journey into the Stupefacosm.

Life is Strange: True Colors is the largest and most ambitious chapter in the Square-Enix series, but it does not reach the narrative depth of the previous chapters.

Tales of Arise is today the highest peak ever reached by the Bandai Namco franchise.

Perhaps its beauty, however, is right there, in its hit & run irreverence like the sudden appearance of a colorful artificial fire in the shape of poop.

Star Drift Evolution comes out of the early access pits with a perfect set-up, which allows it to compete for the top positions of the genre.

Full of references to our contemporaneity and capable of arousing profound reflections on topics of crucial importance, the title finally turns out to be an excellent experience for those looking for an adventure with a calm but suggestive tone.

The fact remains that it is once again one of those titles that once bought can easily remain installed all year round and that can be an excellent choice to be interspersed with other video games in those days when you wake up with a little of nostalgia for drifting in the mud of Chile or for the breathtaking jumps of the Rally of Finland for a bit of unpretentious fun even for those who do not have a cutting-edge driving position but want to have fun even only with the pad which, incidentally, performs quite well despite the Dualsense functions being only half exploited.

Rustler is a fun pastime without particular pretensions that succeeds discreetly, and at a low cost (on Steam it is in promotion for only 14 euros), in order to entertain the player with a series of characters and events beyond all logic.

Also on PS5 The Medium confirms the strengths and weaknesses of a production that is at times also genuinely intriguing, but unable to distinguish itself and to sanction that consecration of the Polish studio that many would have expected (even more so with what seemed to be the project of maturity definitive). The experience is essentially identical to that which lived seven months ago on the Xbox Series X, with a big difference, indeed in practice two. Even without epochal revolutions, on PlayStation 5 the DualSense adds something in terms of interaction compared to the original version, but on the Microsoft console the inclusion of the game in the Game Pass catalog since day one weighs a lot: a download to The Medium yes can and if you are a fan of the genre you must give it without reservations, while the investment of 49.99 € must be taken less lightly.

Despite the eleven years on his shoulders, Sonic Colors is confirmed to be among the most interesting adventures of the polygonal "second life" of the hyperkinetic hedgehog. Enjoying it fully is still possible today, certainly thanks to its intrinsic qualities - level design, in particular - but also the efforts made by Blind Squirrel in packaging Ultimate: a very good level of remastering work, albeit perfectible, and a product that we recommend without delay, especially to those who have not had the opportunity to get lost in the colors of the old edition.

For those who have never played Quake, the remastered is an unmissable opportunity to fill this gap and to appreciate one of the first person shooters that marked an era. Carmack and Romero with their desire to innovate (and their quarrels!) Have brought the video game industry to a new dimension: Quake is the game that has marked - indelibly - the history of id Software. After the "earthquake", in fact, nothing was the same as before. Waiting for a well-deserved reboot / remake, let's console ourselves with this version that offers new content to try and the ability to relive - with a few tears - the frenzy and magic of the old and beloved first person shooters.

The Virtuous Cycle is a brilliant gimmick that gives Mortal Shell new life, and not just because of a brand new shell and weapon to show off in both the base game and the new mode: the DLC devised by Cold Symmetry transforms it in the mix of Hades and Dark Souls that no one thought they wanted, but from which it is now almost impossible to break away.

The reality is that Suda51's new work for Nintendo Switch is the shadow of the No More Heroes it once was, where brilliant ideas, follies, memorable moments and the heinous combat system itself are watered down in a mediocre techno-playful context - and devoid of rhythm.

Pile Up! Box by Box is not the 3D platformer to recommend to die-hard fans of the genre who are looking for the impossible challenge, but it is an unpretentious experience that manages to give its best if played in the company of other people, especially when it comes to smaller players. The entire product is clearly meant to be played in co-op and the NPCs that populate the game world themselves boast a design designed to enchant children with their bright colors and funny shapes. In short, if you were looking for a game with which to bring young people closer to video games, we can only advise you to give the Seed by Seed title a chance, also because it is sold at a very competitive price on all platforms.

It is precisely when exploration takes over mild combat that Axiom Verge 2 shines the most, revealing a "two-sided" universe full of details and secrets that is certainly worth bringing to the surface.

RiMS Racing is not a perfect simulation but it is a good starting point for the future. Despite a series of limitations and problems, the Raceward Studio course stands out for a driving model that will be loved by some, hated by others. Overall we enjoyed it, despite a rather challenging learning curve.