It’s easy to get overpowered to the point where you can enter a melee completely naked, and emerge victorious. But still, you’ll find yourself putting on your best armor just because it feels right. KCD2 isn’t about powergaming – it’s about immersion in a very unique setting that’s obviously a labor of love. [Issue#266]

What trailers failed to convey is that Machine Games managed to replicate the golden ratio of the classic Indiana Jones movies. Stealth, action, puzzles, dialogue and beautiful scenery are perfectly measured and mixed in a way that gives you a taste of a true Indiana adventure. [Issue#266]

In this “fantasy California” no one dares to hurt someone’s feelings – not even a necromancer or a hired killer. It’s a shame that dialogues are this bad, because the rest of the developer team was actually working hard: combat is fun (if a bit too simple), and some levels are outright gorgeous. [Issue#266]

Avowed kinda works. The story is bland, but at least dialogue doesn’t make you cringe every time someone opens their mouth. Combat... exists. And level design is actually good: it looks quite nice, and offers interesting exploration opportunities. But it’s definitely not worth the asking price of $70. [Issue#266]

Unlike the deadly hide-and-seek of Alien: Isolation, The Road Ahead leaves no room for improvisation nor gives a chance to rectify your mistake. Either you do everything exactly as the level designer wanted you to, or you die. [Issue#266]

A great entry point for people new to the Warhammer 40k franchise, as well as a nice throwback to the action games of old. No open world, no Souls-like mechanics, no “meaningful” story choices. Just you, your bolter and a whole lot of enemies to mow down. [Issue#265, p.72]

There’s a lot going on in the story, but it’s explained so haphazardly, you likely won’t understand the plot even after the credits roll. Same goes for gameplay: most of the combat options are unreliable to the point where you’ll never want to use them. [Issue#265, p.79]

Since the story is told in-game via a book, and its main character can pop out into the “real” world to interact with said book, designers got really creative with puzzles. For example, you can replace adjectives to change the properties of an item, or lift a page to make objects on an illustration fall where you want them to. [Issue#265, p.80]

There’s a killer on the loose, there’s a bunch of unlikable teenagers who are about to meet him, and our choices will quite arbitrarily decide who lives and who dies – you know the drill. The only remarkable thing about Frank Stone is the amount of Dead by Daylight references: fans of that game will definitely be pleased. [Issue#265, p.65]

Most horror stories focus on the monster, while this one is about people. There won’t be any insights about cosmology or biology of the impossible creature threatening the oil rig; neither is there an abundance of diaries with innermost thoughts of our colleagues. But that down-to-earth approach is exactly what makes this story so believable and relatable. [Issue#265, p.60]

Despite being a little inexperienced, Bloober Team delivered a remake as great as Resident Evil 2 (2019). Long-time fans of Silent Hill won’t be disappointed, while newcomers will get to experience one of the best horror games ever in all its terrifying glory. [Issue#265, p.56]

Art deco noir cyberpunk world has a lot of little details that really nail that “high tech, low life” feeling. But with the story so bland and by-the-numbers, it’s hard to recommend Nobody Wants to Die as anything but an interactive artbook. [Issue#265, p.54]

Nomada Studio is very open about Neva being inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s works. And I have to admit – they’ve really hit the mark: the game is very heartwarming and emotional. [Issue#265, p.82]

11 bit studios were trying to improve core mechanics and expand the scope of the game, but ended up with a completely different gameplay formula. The number 2 in the title probably hurts the game more than helps. [Issue#265, p.76]

What was the point of this game? If it’s a game about cats, why is there so few typical cat activities? And if it’s a game about humans – why do they act so unnatural? It feels as if the writer’s knowledge about human interaction was all book-learned. [Issue#265, p.61]

Fresh setting and vibrant locations belie some serious gameplay issues, like very uneven difficulty and sluggish movement of the main character. [Issue#265, p.66]

This rather short, but very eventful journey will send Astro up in the air, out to the deep waters, or even inside gargantuan monsters. [Issue#265, p.70]

There’s a lot to see here! [Issue#264,p.48]

A sequel to a story that didn’t need a sequel. A dull walking simulator with puzzles that require very little brainpower to solve. Still, it’s an extremely beautiful game with amazing fight choreography. [Issue#264,p.74]

Combat in Rise of the Ronin is far more nuanced than in Ghost of Tsushima, so even after many hours of gameplay you may discover a new aspect to it that will come as a pleasant surprise. [Issue#264,p.68]

Middle-aged Cutter just doesn’t cut it as a hero. Everything about him screams that he’s old, he’s tired, and instead of going on an adventure, he would’ve preferred to spend the day playing Farming Simulator. [Issue#264,p.54]

The genius of Civilization 3 was in its simplicity. Then Firaxis began piling on additional mechanics and interconnections, losing that spark in the process. Millennia tries to fix that. [Issue#264,p.62]

Music is extremely important for Heading Out: even races last only as long as the accompanying songs. So there’s no excuse for such a bland, boring soundtrack – especially for a game set in the 70s. [Issue#264,p.72]

The world is incredibly detailed, so instead of rushing to the next quest objective, make sure to take your time and let it all soak in. [Issue#264,p.58]

The heart of Alone in the Dark is not in its action sequences – it’s in the narrative. And believe me: you’ll want to see how this horror detective story plays out. [Issue#264, p.52]

Even if you’re not a fan of the online competitive scene, Tekken 8 has a lot of content to offer: assisted mode that is great for parties, a story campaign, and an absolutely fantastic Arcade mode that features its own story and unobtrusively helps you become a better player. [Issue#263, p.36]

Slavania offers a foray into Slavic mythology – a rare treat for metroidvania fans. Instead of skeletons and ghouls you’ll be fighting kikomoras and feral koloboks, while birdwoman Gamayun will serve as your guide. [Issue#263, p.45]

It’s a bit weird that a game called “Silent Hill” doesn’t feature the eponymous town. On the other hand, Silent Hill has long since grown into something bigger than just a place; it’s something that germinates within a person – and HexaDrive studio captured that feeing quite well. [Issue#263, p.56]