Open world in New Dawn exists for one single purpose: to let player engage next group of enemies on his own terms. Hopefully, in next game Ubisoft will finally get rid of RPG elements (mainly, bizarre multi-tiered guns) and go back to the formula of first Far Cry. [Issue#236, p.54]

It seems that after Hearthstone’s success even Scrolls’ developers have lost all interest in their game. [Feb 2015]

For previous Just Dance games you had to use specialized controllers like PS Move; now you can make do with a smartphone. Problem is, when you’re holding the phone in your hand, it’s very hard for it to know what your left leg is doing, so JD 2016 assumes the best and awards you much more score than you deserve. [Issue#203, p.68]

Beneath the simple “match-three” surface lies a very conscious attempt to subvert the traditions of this trite genre. [Issue#243, p.58]

Day 4. I’m still in the shop, watching tutorials, writing down names and brands. Of course, proper tools are way out of my price range, so I’ll have to go with cheap equivalents. …Have you ever tried to find cheap equivalents for stuff you’ve never even heard of before? [Issue#234, p.50]

The adrenaline-fueled action of Mad Max is marred with grind for scrap, all-too-similar side activities and flaws in game logic. [Issue#201, p.52]

Medieval Dynasty delivers a nice blend of survival sim and economy game with a story layer behind it. The only thing that’s lacking is social aspect: Stardew Valley proved how important are neighbors for a farming game, but in Medieval Dynasty they’re just puppets with some basic needs and no actual character. [Issue#258, p.56]

We've got a game that is easy to learn, but hard to master. It offers exciting entertainment for a couple of evenings, but developers did not manage to fully unfold its features. A greater variety of opponents and a wider range of equipment would be appreciated. [September 2014, p. 81]

Frankly speaking, we did not expect much from "The Dark Side". Therefore, the adventure of dark trinity – orc, vampire and she devil – became a pleasant surprise primarily due to the unexpectedly well-designed questing system. More good news – tactics have remained virtually unchanged. [September 2014, p. 68]

The easiest way to describe Fantasy Life is “Skyrim for children”. The developers were aiming for a game where a world would be as open as possible, and where a player would be offered a variety of interesting activities not necessarily related to monster-slaughtering. And they hit the mark. [Dec 2014, p.76]

This new Kirby had the potential to become another great entry in the series, but that didn’t come to be. The blame lies on the difficulty: when you play Star Allies with friends, it’s just too easy, but when you play it with AI-controlled teammates, Kirby basically plays itself. [Issue#228, p.62]

MotoGP 14 is a real lifeline for all fans of the main motorcycle racing championship. To learn all the hardships just switch physics to Pro mode, turn on the tire wear and disable all sorts of helping options like Ideal Trajectory. [September 2014, p. 70]

Fans of the DS originals will enjoy the remake, but for people who got into Pokémon franchise only recently, the game would probably feel empty and repetitive. There are considerably fewer Pokémon too. So unless you’re ready for a trip down vintage lane, you should opt for Pokemon Legend: Arceus. [Issue#258, p.50]

Instead of building upon Guardian of Light’s ideas, Square Enix produced a rushed rehash, turning Aztec pyramids into Egyptian ones. Those who played the original game won’t find anything new here, save for some puzzles with mirrors. [Feb 2015]

Combat boils down to cutting off and devouring everything that can be cut off and devoured. It’s enjoyable for a while, but there’s a lot of missions in the game and not nearly enough variations of monsters, so hunts quickly become very MMORPG’ey in terms of predictability and routine. [Issue#219, p.74]

Who would have thought that the union of two studios which didn’t have a single prominent game between them will yield a game worthy of all possible attention. This exciting and entertaining Action RPG adopted some Dark Souls’ basic mechanics but managed to preserve its own unique face. [Dec 2014, p.60]

To be able to walk around your own starship, to enter your quarters and study SDF command structure, to choose your new mission yourself – all these possibilities feel so fresh for Call of Duty. [Issue#214, p.68]

Rocket Arena is a promising junior, but will it get to the major leagues? With the right amount of balance adjustments and content patches, it’s totally feasible. [Issue#247, p.52]

Level design never rises above corridors and boxy rooms, and graphics are almost the same as they were ten years ago. On the other hand, there are a lot of various enemies to beat and secrets to find, so in the end, MUA3 still makes for a memorable adventure. [Issue#240, p.48]

Searching for clues and interviewing witnesses isn’t all it takes to beat this game, you’ll also have to solve hundreds of puzzles – most of them random and not tied into the main plot at all. [Issue#242, p.60]

Time rewind mechanics and focus on maneuvering bring a welcome spin on an otherwise tedious gameplay formula. [Issue#245, p.56]

Unfortunately, Spellforce doesn’t qualify to be neither titular nor spiritual successor of the series. It’s made by different people, on a different budget, and let’s be fair – the times are different too. [Issue#226, p.52]

Studio managed to do the impossible: turn a difficult subject that's of interest only to specialists, into a product that doesn't feel like "edutainment", but rather like a touching indie game. [Issue#236, p.37]

Beautiful and varied world, high-speed vehicle combat, fine-tuned gunfights - on its own, every aspect of this game is great. But Rage 2 as a whole is somehow less than sum of its parts. [Issue#238, p.34]

Introduction of Luck parameter, coupled with other mechanic novelties, turns familiar XCOM combat into something rather unique. Other differences aren’t so positive – there’s no procedural generation of missions, and the playthrough will be a breeze on any difficulty other than hard. [Issue#204, p.74]

Civilization-like games have long since established that settler can turn into a flourishing town even if you place him in the middle of tundra. Thea adds a healthy dose of survival gameplay to the established formula by making you worry about things that are usually glanced over – like having enough wood for building your settlement in addition to basic workforce. [Issue#205, p.52]

Encased has plenty of polish, but not enough substance beneath it. The game never goes anywhere with its 70’s setting, and, despite the “sci-fi” part of the name, doesn’t even try to consider the scientific implications of the premise. [Issue#255, p.60]

Interesting visuals are perfectly complemented by sound design. Too bad that it’s only 4 hours long, with maybe an extra hour or two if you want to try all the alternate paths. [Issue#251, p.66]