Far from being the disaster prophesied by the genre's detractors, but the miracle desired by fans of the great artists involved this time by FuRyu, REYNATIS is a practical demonstration of how, many times, it is not enough to put together brilliant minds to give life to an authentic masterpiece. Indeed, the superficial screenplay by Kazushige Nojima and the repetitive soundtrack composed by Yoko Shimomura almost seem to suggest that not even they fully believed in the goodness of the project, whose most successful elements are hands down the artwork created by Yasutaka Kaburagi. Although limited by an extremely dated technical sector and an almost non-existent level of difficulty, the combat system of REYNATIS is quite intriguing, even if some mechanics could have been implemented with greater conviction. All things considered, REYNATIS takes home a passing grade, however the advice is to wait for the first discount before pouring into the streets of this dystopian reinterpretation of Shibuya.

EA Sports FC 25 confirms the solidity of Electronic Arts' modern gaming and content proposal, in a chapter that is starting to show signs of a long-desired revolution. The main game modes do not offer any particular innovations, but are still more integrated with each other thanks to a unified progression system and Rush, which acts as a minimum common denominator integrating equally between Career, Ultimate Team and Club. Volta's replacement is in fact more effective and focused than its predecessor, although in cooperative matches it turns out to be quite confusing and frenetic. In any case, the substantial difference this year is in the gameplay, which maximizes the technological achievements obtained thanks to HypermotionV, FC IQ and Cranium for a more realistic, immersive and engaging digital football experience than ever before: finally, thanks above all to the improvement of Team Tactics and Player Roles, FC 25 embraces a more strategic idea of ​​football and less focused on full-throttle speed. Another small and significant step forward towards the definitive leap in quality.

Ultimately, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom can be considered a successful experiment. Playing as the princess is not only genuinely fun, but it offers a new perspective on the entire imaginary of the kingdom of Hyrule. The mechanics of the replicas interact perfectly with the possibility of seeing Zelda in the role of swordswoman, while the ideas related to physical principles further enrich the gameplay. In Echoes of Wisdom, male and female players can adopt the approach they prefer, favoring exploration, use of ingenuity or use of bizarre weapons, equipment and accessories. An excellent adventure, which with a more refined artistic sector and a greater refinement of interfaces and technical aspects could have been a complete masterpiece. If you have a Nintendo Switch on your home table, however, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a very valid reason to grab the joy-con and enjoy the genuine fun offered by the kingdom of Hyrule.

Ara: History Untold boldly launches into the 4X landscape, bringing with it some intriguing innovations. Although the game introduces the prestige system and non-hex maps, it remains faithful to the basic structure of many other congeners. In this sense, the production by Oxide Games is more of a refined restyling than a Copernican revolution. Its new mechanics undoubtedly offer fresh ideas and compelling challenges and the attention to the smallest details further elevates the value of Ara. However, the complexity in resource management and a war component that does not hold up to comparison with the rest of the experience are less brilliant aspects of the package. In any case, we are faced with a valuable production, capable of intriguing fans of the reference genre.

We welcome the return of the most famous mouse in the world with joy, albeit with a hint of bitterness: the game created by the now defunct Junction Point oozes originality from every brush stroke, and who knows, maybe one day Warren Spector and his colleagues will be able to give us a third chapter. The certainty remains that we are faced with one of the highest creative peaks reached in those years, and what better occasion than a graphic remake to rediscover its beauty?

Akimbot's adventure isn't unpleasant, but its shortcomings are evident. The potential of the combat has remained partly unexpressed, either because of some weapons that are too standard, or because of the limitations of the more particular and powerful ones. Then there's the platforming, which has its moments of brilliance, but is accompanied by phases that are far less successful and with an inconsistent pace. The gameplay structure rests on a story with "forecast" developments, which fails to enhance the game's most interesting characters. That said, if you remember the golden age of action platformers with nostalgia, you could still give Evil Raptor's title a chance.

Aside from a couple of hitches that don’t significantly alter the quality of the production, the PC version of God of War Ragnarok shows up to the gamers’ appointment in great shape, ready to drag the masses through the snows of Fimbulwinter. From a performance point of view, we’re talking about a product capable of adapting very well to a wide range of configurations, thanks to the precautions taken by Santa Monica already at the time of the first release. Although the gap between the PS5 and PC versions isn’t exceptionally wide, the overall performance of the porting pushes us to confirm without hesitation the evaluation given a couple of years ago, the same one also attributed to the porting of the previous chapter.

All things considered, Jyamma Games' Italian soulslike gave us mixed feelings: the bright side of the coin is made up of a pleasant plot, a first-rate artistic component and a quality soundtrack, while the darker side is made up of design issues related to the bosses and a gameplay formula that is not always well-balanced. Even leaving aside the technical uncertainties that could be resolved with a series of targeted updates, Enotria: The Last Song seemed to us to be a half-successful project, but between the lines it is still easy to glimpse the development team's potential.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown gives up what had distinguished the previous chapters to try to resemble experiences that have been successful in recent years, but unfortunately it has some obvious shortcomings. The production life cycle has just begun and the offer is destined to enrich and evolve significantly in the coming months. To date, however, we can only photograph the state of things, between a progression based on interesting ideas and not ideal in practice, a barely sufficient customization of the cars and a driving model that has not been able to fully satisfy us. In any case, part of the production potential is still unexpressed and we hope that post-launch support can improve the situation.

Frostpunk 2 is a great experience, with solid graphics, interface improvements and an enviable strategic depth. The transition from the role of Captain to that of Steward introduces a completely new dimension in the management of the city, where power is no longer unilateral, but distributed, which calls the player to face crises, challenges and political games. However, the situations in which you have to deal with a myriad of emergencies at the same time, which are created in ways that are sometimes artificial, end up being oppressive, to the detriment of a feeling of healthy involvement that fortunately the production of 11 Bit Studios knows how to generate very well.

When the credits rolled, the writer immediately thought: if I had a daughter or a son, I would recommend them to play The Plucky Squire with me. While not a brilliant production in every aspect, we are faced with a title aware of its potential, and for this very reason it wisely decides to focus on what it does best. The 3D sections, undoubtedly the weakest of the game, seem almost disfigured when compared to the 2D ones; a real shame, especially if we consider their playful potential.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is an excellent job. Every aspect of this classic has been improved, with brand new graphics, more voiced dialogues and an impressive number of "quality of life" improvements that streamline and make the entire experience much more enjoyable. The slightly dull color palette and some rather clunky animations are not enough to tarnish the excellent work done by Capcom in making one of the most iconic zombie killers of all time current. Absolutely worth recovering for both veterans and newcomers to the series.

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is a fun game, but it's not enough. We appreciate the effort to adapt a sport that was based on other rules to a video game content that must come to terms with the needs of the gameplay. However, we reiterate, that today the content is really too little: the single player challenges are limited and the multiplayer can satisfy you for a few games, but nothing more. More modes, more proposals and a more varied offer were needed, especially in the customization of the team, which instead has few skills to improve. Fans will have their share of satisfaction in whizzing around with their brooms, but the difficulty of the gameplay risks raising the accessibility bar a lot and keeping out all that more casual audience that instead in Hogwarts Legacy had made the fortune of Portkey Games.

World of Warcraft isn't overturned or revolutionized by The War Within, but that's okay. The Activision Blizzard MMORPG lives in a world of its own, with loyal players who see it as a second home and appreciate the timely innovations, the increase in quality of life and certain simplifications of old mechanics, but without exaggerating. The simple and colorful aesthetics are untouched, as are the cornerstones, missions, and many other gameplay elements that now distinguish the title from its competitors. The War Within doesn't want to eradicate these elements: sometimes it evolves them, like with Dynamic Flight and the consequent vertical layering of the maps. Or like with the Delves, minor dungeons suitable for hit-and-run sessions and perfect for leveling up in peace. Other times, however, it indulges them even if it modifies them, like with the Heroic Talents that deepen the builds without changing them completely. As we wait for the next expansions of the Worldsoul Saga, the future of World of Warcraft seems increasingly bright and inviting, even if it will unfold in the underground depths of Azeroth.

All things considered, NBA 2K25 continues to improve what was already a top-notch sports simulation last year, mitigating the issues raised by the community and continuing to beef up an already substantial package. The structural innovations in both the offensive and defensive phases have fully convinced us and the new Era dedicated to Steph Curry and KD's Warriors has genuinely excited us. There are still some problems related to microtransactions (admittedly less pressing than last year) and to the Career mode dedicated to women's basketball, significantly less nourished than the men's one, but overall we are talking about a success almost across the board. 2K and Visual Concepts' basketball is in dazzling shape.

Marvel Fighting Collection is the package that all fans of the saga have been waiting for for many years. Each chapter of the series is re-proposed with a modern netcode, interesting interventions in the quality of life field and a Museum mode full of surprises and goodies. However, the cumbersome presence of Marvel vs Capcom 2 risks overshadowing almost all of the other products in the collection, characterized by a certain physiological redundancy but capable of effectively representing the evolution of one of the most iconic franchises in the history of video games. Too bad for the absence of crossplay and combo challenges for the various characters.

Episode Aigis is a necessary product to complete this remake of one of the cornerstones of JRPG history. Die-hard fans of the title will certainly be thrilled to return to the shoes of the SEES, but the repetitive dungeons and the limited number of activities offered risk quickly giving way to monotony. Fans of the turn-based gameplay of Persona 3 will however be happy to be able to enjoy a gaming experience without interruptions, strong in an accelerated progression and in the name of dungeon crawling.

Squirrel with a Gun tries its best to be as fun and lighthearted as Goat Simulator and the like, but perhaps that's why it fails. For a short time after the first start, it's interesting to try to understand what we can do with our character, how destructive he can be, and how vast his arsenal is. However, this initial charge soon runs out due to unresponsive controls, the repetitiveness of the proposed situations, and some obvious gameplay limitations, such as the small size of the magazines. In short, with or without weapons, goats remain the undisputed masters of video game nonsense, once again.

On one hand we have a team that has always sacrificed interactivity in the name of a cinematic experience, on the other hand there is an online video game that has never made an effort to tell a real story: the meeting between these two extreme visions of the medium has given life to a strange hybrid with a fully Supermassive gameplay structure, chock-full of references to Behaviour's work but narratively lean and devoid of the fun thrills that we would have expected from the team of Until Dawn and The Quarry. Completely devoted to exploring the lore of Dead by Daylight, The Casting of Frank Stone forgets to lay out a plot that can intrigue its audience, bringing on stage a narration castrated by serious problems of pacing and a horror factor that is slow to arrive, despite the short duration of the experience.

Astro Bot never stops, it plays with the player and is played continuously. It alternates commitment and simplicity, nostalgia and joy, with even a touch of unexpected epicness at the end. It is a videogame amusement park where a smiling treasure hunt has been organized. What treasure? The videogame itself.

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is certainly not a perfect game, but it is a product that knows how to conquer the audience of fans of the Games Workshop brand. With a story characterized by epic moments and a successful gameplay especially regarding melee combat, the Saber Interactive game is a simply essential purchase for fans of the Ultramarines, also given the richness of the package, which also includes a series of post-launch contents that will arrive completely free.

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection allows us to relive two interesting spin-offs that, without distorting anything of the typical setting of the series, can provide healthy entertainment for several dozen hours, each thanks to intriguing stories, well-characterized characters, investigations and exciting verbal confrontations. The massive presence of dialogues risks weighing down the pace of progress in some moments but fans of the genre would do well to consider the idea of ​​​​taking on the prosecutor's shoes.

All things considered, Monster Jam Showdown is a simple and straightforward game that does what it promises: it delivers a series of detailed and well-modeled Monster Trucks, placing them in (a few) circuits and stadiums on which to test their capabilities. Immediate controls and high maneuverability make them suitable for many different players, especially those who do not like more complicated simulation driving systems. However, the arcade and carefree soul of the title is not enough to completely mitigate the limitations of the management of physics or the collision system, to which we must add a content offering that has not always satisfied us.

Age of Mythology Retold is the dream of all fans of the old title by Ensemble Studios: it allows you to play what is basically a remake with a visibly improved technical department and many small new features on the gameplay front. It is therefore an opportunity to discover or rediscover this real-time strategy, perhaps taking advantage of its presence in the Game Pass console and PC catalog.

Despite presenting the same structural conformation of the episodes published 30 years ago and without trying to correct the slight congenital distortions, Emio, the Smiling Man, offers a story robust and flowing enough to keep players glued for its entire duration, provided that you compromise with an old gameplay concept in which the player's agency is reduced to the minimum terms, and which often results in a banal cycle of trial and error. In any case, this new chapter has once again proven Sakamoto's talent in the narrative field, so if you are passionate about the genre and do not disdain a classic-style visual novel, this is a horror story that you absolutely cannot miss. Who knows, it might even give you an eternal smile.

Although the new class system has undoubtedly helped to rejuvenate the product formula a little, Square Enix's new "vision" continues to be too anchored to the traditions of the long-running Japanese saga, which this year celebrated its thirty-third anniversary. It is above all on the narrative level that Visions of Mana struggles to convince, as the title only gets into gear in the very advanced stages of the adventure and which we fear may only reach the most nostalgic fans of the series. Finally, everything is aggravated by a series of technical imperfections that we hope will be filed down through specific patches.

Star Wars Outlaws is a production that pays homage to the source material in the best possible way. Despite a few imperfections, the gameplay mix between action and stealth works, and the credit for this is also to be found in the beauty of the settings that form the backdrop to the high-risk missions faced by Kay and Nix. The reputation system is interesting and well-crafted, and gives the idea of ​​being a scoundrel trying to survive in a world of unscrupulous criminals. A less empty open world that offered more satisfying activities would have made Outlaws shine even more, but in any case we are talking about a game that fans of the saga should not miss out on. In the seedy slums, where the help of the Jedi is absent and the law of the smartest prevails, with a sharp tongue and a "quick-legged" friend you can carve out a place for yourself in the great Star Wars universe.

Concord is a hero shooter with effective graphics and really fun gunplay, features that fail to stand out due to the presence of significant issues, both in terms of roster balance and the characterization of individual fighters. The functioning of the round mode needs to be reviewed and the progression system seemed to us to lack bite, due to rewards that are not worthy of attention. In short, the situation of the title by Firewalk Studios is not rosy at all at the moment.