It’s hard to find time for heroics in a busy schedule of sleeping, foraging, finding water, walking back and forth to base camp or vomiting in the bushes due to food poisoning. [Issue#227, p.64]

Revolution has little to do with Valkyria Chronicles, as it is not a turn-based strategy, but an action-RPG, so closest point of reference would be Final Fantasy XV. Compared to it, some things in Revolution are better – like being able to control any of the four characters, – and some are way worse, like overly-simplistic gameplay and graphics that make Dynasty Warriors series come to mind. [Issue#222, p.58]

During epic battles Berserk fits musou genre nicely, but when Guts’ story gets at odds with game mechanics, things take a turn for the worse. [Issue#219, p.72]

One World stays faithful to the series: once again you’ll need to slowly build up your farm and improve relationships with the neighbors. “Slowly” is the keyword here: the process is so monotonous, it takes a particular kind of gamer to enjoy Harvest Moon. [Issue#253, p.64]

It’s definitely a step forward compared to basic 1-2-Switch!, but that step isn’t big enough to help the game come out of its (very narrow) niche.[Issue#262, p.76]

If this game had nothing but driving, it would’ve been fine. But for some reason Redlynx decided to add on-foot levels that are exemplary bad: controls are wonky, character is likely to get stuck in the ground, and level design is bland at best. You literally have to endure playing through them – and they take as much as a third of the game. [Issue#211, p.60]

Carmageddon: Reincarnation is just like a once-beloved pet that came back from the cemetery: it’s kind of familiar, but it stinks, looks bad and falls apart, so playing with it isn’t as fun as it once was. [Issue#199, p.79]

Pieces come together to create dynamic action: if you try to complete levels as artfully as possible, Russia will be fun – much better, actually, than any of the previous Chronicles. [Issue#207, p.51]

Poor visibility, unremarkable environments and lack of map end up causing a state of perpetual disorientation, so you stumble upon the door to next section purely by chance. And if you stumble upon the monster instead – well, just sprint to the nearest vent, since it’s not scripted to get you out of there. On the other hand, you can’t even throw a piece of junk to attract its attention elsewhere, so you end up sitting there, doing nothing, until it finally gets bored and shambles away. Yes, it’s that bad. [Issue#212, p.60]

After the failure of Trine 3 Frozenbyte was in urgent need for a new hit but Shadwen with its clumsy flirtation with stealth and obsolete technologies clearly can’t claim the status. [Issue#210, p.81]

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]

Worlds of Magic invades your life like a hungry spirit of a Christmas long past due, its eyes alight with blue flame, its bony fingers grasping the autobiography of Master of Magic. In a few hours, after it’ll disappear in a puff of glitchy smoke, your head will ache and you’ll have trouble remembering the events of your time together. Still, you’ll have a feeling that it wasn’t all that bad. [May 2015, p.74]

Do you know why grand-strategy masters, Paradox Interactive, do not mess with XX century after World War I? That’s because the world becomes so complex afterwards, you can’t adequately emulate it. You can still focus on a single aspect, sure (for example, if you choose war – you get Hearts of Iron), but all-around emulation? That’s going to be a fiasco. And Realpolitics proves that point with its every last byte. [Issue#218, p.57]

Hopefully, Inafune put kickstarter millions to good use, like buying a nice juicy steak for his dog or a fancy gold toilet for his new mansion. It’s hard to believe that even a quarter of backers money was actually spent on Mighty No. 9, since it looks like a bad game from 90-s, and plays even worse. It’s especially shameful since nowadays an indie team can make a good platformer in just a few months and only for a fraction of this sum. [Issue#211, p.63]

One shouldn’t be allowed to just cobble together “something Jagged-alliancy”, panting and cursing at every step. Development of an experience like Arulco or Metavira should be approached with a clear head and a clear conscience, otherwise instead of being a holy rite it ends up as a profanation of one of the best games in existence. [Dec 2014, p.68]

Ten years ago no one could think Syberia would ever get a Part III. Second game nicely wrapped up the story, mammoths were found, we’ve got closure – what’s more to talk about? But for Microids the Syberia series is probably the biggest and best thing among its meager assets. So, want it or not, Kate Walker had to have another adventure. [Issue#220, p.64]

Combat system is overly simplistic; the most difficult trick here is precise parrying with a follow-up counterattack. Other than that, it’s all about button-mashing – which would be fine for a half-hour arcade title, but not for a six-hour game. And it’s so painfully slow: although each bad guy is getting punched by eight green fists simultaneously, health bars barely tick down.

Generation Zero was designed with co-op in mind, but it lacks basic quality of life features, like dedicated servers, ignore list for matchmaking and even something as vital as integrated voice chat. [Issue#237, p.50]

Two-minute trailer of Extinction that shows an epic battle against a giant ogre might make you interested in the game, but the thing is – if you’ve seen it, you’ve seen everything the game has to offer. Literally. [Issue#230, p.64]

Double Dragon 4 is a perfect solution for people who want to relive every bad design feature of 20th century arcade games. Feel once again that surge of emotions when enemies hit you from offscreen, or when you die during a clunky but merciless platforming section. Not to mention the authentic earworm music. [Issue#217, p.85]

Points you earn by genocide may be spent on upgrades that make your machine gun stronger or give allied infantry a bit more health. It’s not much, but it makes time spent with IS Defense a bit better. Still, it’s a lot better not to spend time on it at all. [Issue#209, p.77]

It’s obvious that TallTech studio looked at first two Fallouts for inspiration, but all they’ve managed to copy is poor visuals. Character progression is poorly designed and story is linear: whether you want it or not, your character will gain companions, surrender and lose the entire inventory precisely when scriptwriter wills him to. [Issue#212, p.52]

Absurdity reaches its peak when a corpse that’s been lying on the floor for a while gets some new friends and enemies. Looks like the space frontier in Spacebase DF-9 is settled exclusively by deranged people who were booted from civilized worlds. [Feb 2015]

Demon Skin feels more like a vertical slice of a great game than a product of its own. It’s short, it’s not polished enough, but the core gameplay is solid. Hopefully, the studio will get a bigger budget next time – there’s a lot of potential here. [Issue#253, p.51]

Tasks that you receive before a match push the madness even further: “body-check that player”, “get 5 minutes of penalty time”, “win 3 fistfights”. In our days of sterile, cookie-cutter hockey sims a crazy (in a good way!) game like this one would instantly get a spot in hall of fame if it wasn’t for a number of shortcomings. [Issue#219, p.71]

For the first few hours you’ll be locked in the “combo-block-dodge-ability” cycle, but as hero unlocks additional powers, more and more elements are dropped, until all that’s left is the use of abilities. [Issue#242, p.65]

Despite the cuts, plenty of controversial stuff did make it into the game – for example, there’s a sinner who uses a baby like a mop. But here’s the thing: while unquestionably disgusting, it’s not scary. And coupled with lackluster gameplay mechanics, Agony quickly becomes a chore. [Issue#231, p.64]

Seafaring is passable, but on-foot exploration and dialogues evoke a broad range of feelings, from pity to loathing. As for voice-acting, well, it’s sure to cause fits of nervous laughter. [Issue#204, p.88]