By blowing on the dormant flames of Souls iconography, Blue Fire brings an experience with an authentic and challenging character to the panorama of independent development, evoking an almost melancholy scent. The inspiration from names such as The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario does not betray any lack of personality, on the contrary it reveals the attention of a team - that of ROBI Studios - which has been able to combine all the influences sought elsewhere with great coherence and playful effectiveness. The result is a 3D metroidvania that makes good platforming its stylistic code, net of the frustration inherent in some phases, on which, however, the goodness of the proposed challenge and the charisma of its atmospheres allow you to easily fly over.

After the disastrous Super Neptunia RPG packaged in 2019 by Artisan Studios, we harbored the sincere fear of finding another title that is poor in every respect in our hands. The Japanese developer Compile Heart has instead taken over the reins of its flagship franchise, and although Neptunia Virtual Stars lends its side to several critical issues, the result is all in all enjoyable. The gameplay and the balance of the difficulty should be revised, but overall the spin-off manages to effectively carry out its duty, which is to entertain historical fans of the saw and fans of virtual YouTubers.

The wind that blows from the island of Iki, at times, can be even more overwhelming than the one that crossed the horizons of Tsushima. Short but incisive, the expansion sets up an intimate narrative, which delves even deeper into the tormented meanders of Jin's soul: it succeeds, and convinces us. The new map and the timid additions to the gameplay do not exponentially increase the variety and quality of an experience that, as expected, remains conservative, with the same merits and the same stumbling blocks as the base game. If the lock on has a fluctuating implementation, which does not solve the problems of a camera that is far from flawless, it is the art direction (again!) And the use of DualSense that make the difference: a sign of how Ghost of Tsushima , also and above all in the Director's Cut, is an adventure that stands out mainly for its evocative visual flashiness. And now - thanks to the PS5 pad - also sensory.

Is Art of Rally still a masterpiece? Absolutely yes, but on the Nintendo hybrid it is clouded by a blanket of technical problems so intrusive that it comes out terribly distorted.

Twelve Minutes represents a videogame experiment born from a series of suggestive intuitions. The choice of setting the title within the confines of a small two-room apartment, combined with the mystery that constantly permeates the work, certainly represents one of the most valuable aspects of the Indie published by Annapurna Interactive. Unfortunately, a scarce malleability, the limited possibilities of interaction and a narrative evolution that makes excessive use of artificial solutions prevent Luis Antonio's work from fully expressing its starting potential.

Quotation forthcoming.

Humankind, in short, raises the quality standards of 4X games, placing itself as the perfect "rival" of Civilization. This net of some gleanings that could be filed through future updates and secure expansions. If you are a lover of this genre, you can't really skip the appointment with the work of Amplitude. The future, full support for mods and the world editor will contribute to enrich the title seamlessly.

It is an archive in videogame form that will be composed over time to make Enzo Cucchi's production immortal, becoming at the same time a work of art in its own right.

Hunter's Arena Legends is nothing more than a jumble of elements from different genres mixed without the right criteria.

One of the most beautiful surprises of this 2021.

Let's be clear, the title signed by Antab Studio has arrows in its bow. Using the different cybernetic powers of Evan Kapnos is a pleasure and they offer enough variety to the fights, and the cyberpunk atmospheres that you breathe are engaging enough to push you to want to go all the way without stopping. We also appreciate the developers' attempt to give the right variety to their work by mixing action, stealth and puzzles. The problem with Foreclosed is that its many playful elements lack incisiveness and are not fully convincing. Monotonous battles against enemies driven by an A.I. very poor, elementary stealth phases and a few repetitive puzzles fail to fully exploit Antab's adventure.

The Siege of Paris rests solidly on the playful and technical foundations of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and in some respects does not reach the scenic heights of Eivor's Irish journey.

Hades was an undisputed masterpiece eleven months ago on PC and Nintendo Switch, and is reconfirmed as such also on the PlayStation and Xbox formats. The edition intended for the Sony and Microsoft platforms is in all respects identical to the original, with just appreciable improvements in terms of resolution on the most recent machines, where the glance of 4K can be seen in the exaltation of the theatrical setting.

Jupiter Hell is a richer, more concrete and more enjoyable version of Doom, the Roguelike, from which it borrows the original concept. The result is a more than valid exponent of the genre, which mixes action, strategy and a pinch of RPG without ever being too frustrating, thanks to a good balance and the ability to select different levels of challenge.

For € 19.99 and a dozen hours or so, the game is definitely worth the candle.

Inspired and delicate on the visual and musical side, Omno's journey is not completely convincing, also thanks to a somewhat hasty ending and a moral conveyed with slight superficiality. Between too simple and repetitive puzzles and a fluctuating technical component, the work of Studio Inkyfox can still give you a few hours of lightheartedness with a not particularly demanding adventure, ideal to play in the summer. If you are a Game Pass subscriber, our advice is to give it a chance anyway.

The transformation from mod to real game took a long time, but the final result fully convinced us.

Hell Let Loose is not a game for everyone and it is very likely that those looking only for a shooter set in the Second World War may not appreciate it. It is in fact a product designed exclusively for a hardcore audience that is not afraid of the long times that elapse between one death and another and that cannot be categorized as a simple first-person shooter. Hell Let Loose is an experience that aims to recreate situations as similar as possible to those of a real conflict and this involves a slow and reasoned approach that is in stark contrast to other modern productions, which focus everything on immediacy and chaos. If you're ready to turn a blind eye to some annoying glitches and that's the kind of simulation you're looking for, then you might find hours and hours of fun with your most trusted teammates in Hell Let Loose.

Don't be fooled by the reduced duration of Seven's adventure: after the finale you will be delighted by numerous additions during the second game, and the new awareness gained in the course of exploring Aryish could push you to renew your approach, looking for other avenues. The narration will satisfy the fans of Isaac Asimov's great science fiction, with suggestions of a religious nature that recall the works of Roger Zelazny and Philip Kindred Dick; the possibilities for in-depth analysis offered by the documents then recall works such as The Talos Principle (2014). There remain some small regrets: we would have liked a greater characterization of the inhabitants, robotic and otherwise, of the planet Aryish, and on some occasions the lack of variety of enemies leaves room for a small dose of monotony. Vesper, however, remains a star that shines bright in the sky of Italian videogame development, and which we recommend without reservation.

Tribes of Midgard is a good compromise between team play, exploration and survival. A sandbox with an intriguing setting, albeit artistically uninspired, which offers a type of approach to the genre by virtue of accessibility and cooperation: in short, the shy but dignified starting point for Norsfell. A team that thus sets foot in a market that is quite inflated in itself, laying the foundations for an experience that - if duly supported, especially in terms of content - could prove to be an excellent opportunity to engage in fierce survival challenges with friends. However, it remains a not very bold title on the action front, and the same can be said for its aesthetic identity, still too weak to stand out properly.

As lovers of the narrative aspect of Hidetaka Miyazaki's work rather than the high level of challenge regardless, we struggled to fall in love with Eldest Souls. Because, while trying in some way to mimic the fragmented writing cleared by From Software, this experiment fails to be evocative in the same way.

The Ascent is an ambitious work, which fascinates with incredible atmospheres and visually breathtaking scenarios. Unfortunately, the exceptional production effort carried out on the sets and modeling of the game world does not hide some problems related to the balance of the gameplay and the quality of the script. In short, as far as the creation of the imaginary is concerned, we can say that we are faced with a great little blockbuster of the Microsoft and PC offer: a shame not to be able to remember the splendid streets of Veles as an absolute excellence of the indie market.

Chernobylite is, in essence, a small jewel, embellished by the maniacal care with which The Farm 51 reproduces the places of the real Chernobyl disaster, enslaving them to the playful-narrative needs of the production. Unfortunately, the eclectic mix of mechanics is not perfectly balanced and this leads to perhaps too much dilution of the gaming experience which should, on the contrary, be more rendered and a little more rhythmic. The journey to the contaminated zone, however, is highly recommended.

Samurai Warriors 5 is the ideal chapter to approach the franchise for the first time and retrace the deeds of the valiant leaders experienced during the sengoku era of feudal Japan.

The title leans dangerously towards a not too veiled pay-to-win, favoring only those who are willing to put their hand to the wallet: the hope is that the system will be reviewed from the ground up and rebalanced as soon as possible, to balance an offer to date monstrously unbalanced.

Whether or not you have completed the adventure starring Neku, approach the sequel without hesitation and let yourself be carried away by the Game of Demons.

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is an exceptional spin-off double for the series by Capcom and Shu Takumi.

Flight Simulator faces the console world with a truly valuable port, a concentration of technologies destined to teach.