It’s hard to recommend Deathloop to anyone. By action standards, the game is plainly boring: it’s basically the same 4 maps over and over again with no variety in enemies or weapons. Cause-and-effect timeloop puzzle gameplay is underwhelming as well: aside from the proper solution, there are very few things to try. [Issue#255, p.56]

It’s almost like Diablo 4 developers are consciously fighting against everything that made classic Diablo fun. [Issue#262, p.80]

Tombs are the best thing RotTR has to offer. Compared to the previous Tomb Raider, there really are more of them, but not quite as many as we’d want. Plus, unlike the stealth/combat sequences, most of the tombs can be skipped – although the game would’ve been much better off if it was the other way around. [Issue#204, p.62]

It has its ups and downs. On one hand, there’s a lot to do and graphics are top-notch by 3DS standards; on the other – there’s basically no story and virtually no new ideas. It’s up to debate what outweighs what, but there’s no doubt that in its genre Monster Hunter has no real competition on 3DS. [Issue#211, p.61]

In the first few hours, you get to know and love Inscryption. Then, it genre-shifts to the point of total unrecognizability. [Issue#257, p.78]

Developers reused a lot of assets from the first game, did nothing to address its shortcomings, and probably hope that combat alone (which is as good as it was before) would be enough to sell the game to the public. [Issue#245, p.54]

The setting is intriguing, but the story is bland. Open world promises exploration, but there is nothing to find. The combat has all the beats – but it just isn’t interesting. [Issue#254, p.68]

After you get used to the world of Shadow of Mordor understanding comes: there is nothing to do in it. Chieftains – pretty serious opponents at first – in the end due to the lame balance become the whipping boys. Storyline is buried under muddy reasoning about rings, elves and dark lord. As a result you like the Shadow of Mordor gameplay but you do not want to go to the finish. [Nov 2014, p.64]

Alas, developers were way too eager to copy FromSoftware’s ideas, so Salt and Sanctuary never became anything more than “2D Dark Souls”. Nice concept, but a forgettable experience. [Issue#208, p.73]

343 Industries managed to rectify some of Halo 4’s mistakes, but most of its shortcomings are still present. [Issue#203, p.56]

Developers compare HDL to Legend of Zelda, but their biggest similarity is that the world is split between surface and dungeon “halves”. In HDL, you don’t explore dungeons, you clean them out: enter a room, kill everyone, proceed to the next. [Issue#209, p.72]

Shredder’s Revenge is one big nostalgia trip that doesn’t even try to do something more – like offering actually good and nuanced beat’em up experience, for example. [Issue#260, p.52]

It’s nice to know that Dave and Sandy from Maniac Mansion are doing fine, but they have no relation to this story. Same can be said for many others: storyline is chockfull of side stuff that ends up going nowhere. It’s also missing an ending – instead of resolving everything, Thimbleweed Parks plays a postmodernism card that leaves an extremely bad aftertaste [Issue#219, p.78]

It’s a good thing to have wide range of racing disciplines, but seriously – who would buy Project CARS 2 for its carting or Formula Rookie championship? And no, you can’t just play what you like: more than half of the championships are locked from the get-go. [Issue#224, p.46]

Sadly, Persona 5 Strikers has some value only for the fans of original Persona 5. For others it will prove to be an odd mix of a dull visual novel with a pretty average musou game. [Issue#252, p.56]

The game puts as much emphasis on narration as it does on turn-based combat, but if you’ve ever played a JRPG or two, Valkyria’s story won’t surprise you – you already know by heart these character types and plot twists. Same goes for combat – it’s so similar to the first game, it’s embarrassing. [Issue #233, p.60]

Over the course of 5 episodes Max will find time to play detective, visit alternate realities, fall in love (perhaps), take a lot of photos and make a lot of choices... only to have the slate wiped clean by the final scene. [Issue#203, p.80]

Played regularly, Ring Fit Adventure may become a cheap alternative to gym membership, or at least make morning workout less boring. [Issue#241, p.69]

Think of every obnoxious sidequest you’ve ever had to do; chances are, you’ll have to do exactly the same in Replicant. It has everything from mail delivery to mass-slaughtering sheep for an occasional drop of mutton. Its only saving grace is the new battle system, created by experts at Platinum Games.[Issue#253, p.52]

A fight with an ordinary enemy whose level is slightly higher can drag on for minutes, especially if you’re fighting it alone. The combat itself is also rife with problems: sometimes main character even fails to draw his weapon, or locks onto a far-off enemy, while another already is eviscerating him in close combat. [Issue#226, p.64]

C&C was difficult not because of good AI or interesting tactical puzzles, but due to poor usability. With modernized interface, it’s a walk in the park, and will be enjoyable only as long as nostalgia lasts. [Issue#247, p.44]

Metro has always been a very niche game series with poor storytelling, broken stealth and unsatisfying shooting mechanics, which are offset by original setting. The same is true for Exodus, although it also adds "pointless open world" to the pile. [Issue#236, p.28]

A lot of interesting mechanics were implemented, but ultimately left stranded by tedious core gameplay. [Issue#242, p.44]

If FIFA 15 seemed too fast and felt wrong for no apparent reason, it’s likely that PES 2015 is your game. [Jan 2015, p.74]

The game may appear to be monotonous since heroes never learn new abilities – but as levels go, they find new applications for skills they already have, so Unruly Heroes never goes stale. [Issue#236, p.36]

Mordhau is basically two games in one: on one hand, it has a complex fighting system with feints, ripostes and so on. On the other – you can forget about all that fancy dueling stuff and just charge in with your halberd, hoping to chop off a few heads before losing your own. [Issue#239, p.62]

Puzzles should’ve been a nice break between intense slasher-parkour sequences. But they’re so drawn out that instead of giving you a breather, they choke the life out of the action. [Issue#250, page 54]

A great comedy adventure with a hair-trigger tempered, yet still charming protagonist. Chuchel is like a fun-charged battery that’s ready to boost your mood. [Issue#228, p.66]