Every kind of shot from flat to backspin, various environmental objects and special abilities of characters – Mario Tennis Aces might very well be the most complex and difficult Nintendo game of this generation. [Issue#232, p.64]

Track list ranges from Boney M and Queen to Shakira and PSY – about 40 songs in total. Thankfully, each PS4/Xbox One/Switch copy of Just Dance 2018 comes with a 3-months access to songs from previous titles, bringing total count to several hundred – more than enough for a party (and to drive your neighbors completely nuts). [Issue#225, p.66]

Like most beat’em’ups, Scott Pilgrim really shines in co-op, so poor netcode really is a disadvantage. On the other hand, the gameplay is good, and chiptune soundtrack is great for fans of this genre. [Issue#252, p.52]

Minimalistic controls. Huge freedom of choice. Loads of fun. The only time something isn’t happening in Rebel Galaxy is when you pause it to go brew another cup of tea. [Issue#203, p.78]

Money’s always in short supply in Beholder: Karl has to pay for repairs, buy food and medicine, give his kids some pocket money. To stay in the black, Karl can report activities of his tenants to authorities, steal from them or blackmail them. Each decision impacts lives of those around him, and even well-intended actions may lead to unfortunate consequences. [Issue#215, p.57]

McGregor’s presence on the cover is symbolic: just as real UFC becomes less about the sport and more about the money and the show, the virtual UFC eschews gameplay in favor of lootbox profits. [Issue#227, p.42]

Despite completely original story, Man of Medan feels more like an Until Dawn expansion pack than game of its own. It also is noticeably shorter and less varied, although still fun to play. [Issue#240, p.32]

Just like tactical classics of Commando series, you have to take down enemies one by one, dodging patrols and security cameras. Or you can go in guns blazing – might work out too, though enemy has no concept of fair fight, bringing in as much guns as they can muster. [Issue#201, p.70]

It’s rather short and there’s no replayability at all (even the loot in chests isn’t random), but if you like the magic of walking square by square, solving puzzles, and dungeon-delving in general, give Vaporum a try – it won’t disappoint. [Issue#224, p.58]

Nemesis is a one-hit wonder of a mechanic. Everything else in Middle-earth is mediocre at best, but Nemesis makes it all worthwhile, since every playthrough is truly unique – a feature none of its triple-A competitors can offer. [Issue#225, p.38]

If the developers had packed their unusual fighting system in a linear adventure instead of half-baked openworld, it would’ve been a win-win situation for everyone. [Issue#224, p.57]

Resident Evil 2 Remake shows how to properly blend old-school horror ideas with modern action to create a great game. Tormented Souls ignored all that and tried to copy the original one-to-one, with predictable result: it’s a bland clone of a game two decades old. [Issue#256, p.38]

One does not enter a wonderland by good luck. Last time Noah came to Silentia, he was in deep coma. Now the journey will be triggered by a military-grade explosive. Fortunately, this wonderland is forgiving – it’ll be glad to see Sadwick back and it will welcome little Reny with open arms. But it doesn’t forget anything either – Noah destroyed it last time around, so now it’s time to face the consequences. [Issue#215, p.62]

After lingering way too long in development, GT Sport came out amongst competitors that spent previous years on constant self-improvement, iteration by iteration. Forza Motorsport 7, for example, is bigger and better in almost every regard. That doesn’t mean that GT Sport won’t find its share of fans, but it definitely lost a lot of luster. [Issue#225, p.46]

Fascinating experiments with spheres are clouded by the vastness of locations, the lack of clues and ingenuity of puzzles. And if you get used eventually to the intricate brain-teasers with their dreamlike logic, then boring mumbling narrator keeps you annoyed until the very end. Hero spits stamps like a fifth-grader and cites quotes on about everything. But this is forgivable minus, because Carlos Coronado did programming, game design, script and music himself. And games that made with love are rarely bad. [Nov 2014, p.75]

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]

What OnRush needs is tighter controls and physics. While you can get some impressive smash-downs, they’re mostly random, instead of being the result of planning and skill. [Issue#231, p.66]

There are only a few changes over the original game, and almost all of them are for the worse. Not to mention that the increased amount of busywork made me feel more like an evil genius’ butler than the big man himself. [Issue#253, p.48]

Although Victor Vran lacks traditional character statistics, some customization options are present – for example, there’s a bunch of passive perks in form of cards. Still, the action itself is closer to twin-stick shooters than action-RPGs. [Sept 2015, p.84]

Night chases are the best moments of the game: a horde of zombies is stomping behind you, much more agile hunters are breathing in your neck and ahead you see the pack of undead, who has not yet realized what is going on. You have a split second to decide if you will try to break through the crowd, or turn to the alley and pray to all the known gods in hope to escape from pursuit. [Issue #195, p.64]

A game that’s far more pleasing to look at than to actually play. [Issue#226, p.67]

The biggest reason to finish the game is its multi-layered and complex story that’s prone to turning everything you know upside down at the drop of a hat. From medical drama to corporate intrigues to family problems – Get Even delivers what’s expected from a psychological thriller. [Issue #222, p.60]

No matter how pretty and nuanced Paris level is, when you have nothing else to play with for a whole month, you’ll get burned out. If Square Enix followed their original plan and released at least three sandbox levels at once (or, better yet, the complete game), it would’ve got a much better reception. [Issue#208, p.52]

Just as in GRID 2, gloom of single player races diluted by adrenaline of online modes. They offer not only the same five career disciplines, but also essential management, easy tuning, leveling and weekly competitions on the RaceNet site. [September 2014, p. 62]

Ghost of a Tale’s biggest problem is its quests: the world is enchanting, the characters are charming, but in the end you’ll still be collecting ten bear asses over and over again. [Issue#229, p.44]

We could praise riveting races, unforgiving opponents and spectacular destructibility – but all that was already present in the original game. So what does remaster bring to the table? The answer is “nothing”. [Issue#250, page 52]

Nominally, our task is to collect stars, but Ode isn’t as simple as it looks: each planet is filled with music. With a touch, you can make things like mushrooms and corals join your orchestra and throw a party the world has never seen. [Issue#226, p.40]

A choice between two evils or two truths was a good fit for The Walking Dead because that’s what the series was about. But “A Song of Fire and Ice” isn’t about such decisions; its characters solve rather primitive dilemmas actually, but they solve them wrongly. Therefore, choices that you make in this game just don’t feel right; they don’t leave that “Westeros” impression. [Jan 2015, p.71]