Surprisingly, not every racing game is about races. Some of them are mostly about cars, or driving with friends, or exploring a nice open world. But Project CARS is, first and foremost, about races and driving. [Issue#199, p.72]

PvP in Splatoon 2 is so good that Nintendo wouldn’t be Nintendo if they didn’t try to squander it: three of four game types are only available on schedule (isn’t that why we play games – to follow some arbitrary schedules someone in Nintendo HQ came up with?). Well, at least Turf War is always unlocked – and it’s the best one of them anyway. [Issue#222, p.66]

Song of Life is one of the best installments in the Yakuza series, mostly because Sega finally switched to quality over quantity mentality. The game no longer weights you down with hundreds of boring little side quests that make you run around so much you end up forgetting what was going on in the main storyline. [Issue#228, p.54]

The second game proves to be faithful to its predecessor in terms of lore and atmosphere, and simultaneously manages to break new ground in gameplay. It makes us look forward to further evolution of the series in a potential sequel. [Issue#252, p.48]

There is one major caveat, and it’s the amount of content. You’ll keep seeing the same dynamic events over and over; same goes for PvP maps. Not to mention there’s only one raid, and it accommodates only 6 people. Still, Destiny 2 remains a fun Diablo-like FPS, and it works surprisingly well on PC, so if you’ve skipped console-only Destiny 1, it’s definitely worth a look. [Issue#225, p.42]

Blitz definitely can be qualified as a success. The seemingly impossible task – to port a thoughtful, slow-paced game to a platform that’s all about instant gratification – was accomplished. And the product is not a Frankensteinian monstrosity, but something new, fast-paced and captivating. [Jan 2015, p.100]

Story battles take about 20 minutes, while dialogue, inventory management, practice fights and everything else that takes place in-between them can take up to two hours. Nevertheless, the quality of story battles makes up for the wait because they offer a lot of variety, and every problem can be solved in a multitude of ways. [Issue#260, p.44]

A rare gem that was polished to near-perfection during its time in Steam’s Early Access. [Issue#203, p.87]

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]

It’s just three new missions without new characters or gameplay mechanics (well, with one small exception). They’re interesting, they’re difficult, graphics, music and voice acting are top-notch, – but Aiko’s Choice is still too small to be sold as a standalone game. [Issue#258, p.54]

The game keeps shifting the mood, going from upbeat light novel to horror, hitting all stops in-between. The same can be said about gameplay: developers did their best to make sure that MiSide never goes stale in the 4 hours it takes to complete a single playthrough. [Issue#266]

Rich storyline, impactful choices, difficult fights and great adaptation of pen-and-paper mechanics make Wrath of the Righteous a true RPG gem. [Issue#255, p.34]

Acreus came out just a few months after Diamond & Pearl remake. Isn’t that too soon? Actually, no. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the most innovative, revolutionary, and maybe simply the best Pokémon game of the last decade. [Issue#259, p.48]

It perfectly captures the essence of “Starship Troopers” movie without quoting it directly. Good gunplay doesn’t hurt either, and a healthy dose of friendly fire chaos brings some spice into the mix. [Issue#263, p.42]

There’s nothing wrong with learning from your competitors, but what’s the point of copying stuff that’s mocked even by Ubisoft fans? Hopefully, next time Guerrilla will focus more on Horizon’s own strengths: unique world and mechosaurs that are so fun to take apart. [Issue#259, p.72]

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]

Despite its visual similarities with Wargame series, Steel Division Normandy 44 is nothing like it gameplay-wise. “If a bunch of tanks couldn’t take care of a problem, just send more next time” way of thinking doesn’t work here: two infantry platoons, a reconnaissance unit and a properly placed AT gun can lay waste to a whole battalion. And if you throw some machineguns and a mortar into that mix, enemy’d be hard-pressed to crack this nut without some serious artillery support. [Issue#222, p.52]

The game has good economics system, interface shortcomings will probably get patched and DLCs will add stuff that’s missing right now (like spying mechanics or ability to play in early Cold War period). But that bloody mandatory AI assistance is obviously here to stay, so there’s only two options – either learn to accept it, or wait for a total conversion. [Issue#211, p.70]

Village is not a “survival horror”, but a “survival action”. One particular episode aside, you are always armed and expected to face the problem head-on. Even boss fights are all about strafing and filling the enemy with lead. [Issue#253, p.38]

Invisible, Inc. is a “flash fiction” of a game. It has great idea, but it’s just too small to become a timeless piece. [Issue#199, p.84]

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]

Before, you used to drive a heavy-duty rig through all kinds of difficult terrain basically for the sake of it. Now you complete contracts and earn money to get a better rig. You can also impact the world by building bridges and removing debris, which makes the entire process much more involved. [Issue#246, p.42]

It’s obvious how much progress Ubisoft has made in terms of quality of side activities: in Watch Dogs 2 they have their own cutscenes, dialogue and interesting set-ups. Even something as benign as taxi missions isn’t limited to moving someone from point A to point B: for example, you may get a fare who writes a blog about extreme lifestyle, so she’ll want you to make some risky jumps in your car. [Issue#214, p.36]

Chaotic melees give little opportunity to use more sophisticated fencing mechanics, but there’s no denying that there’s a lot of pure visceral fun to be had here. [Issue#254, p.58]

It’s more like a Season 2 to Hitman (2016) than a proper sequel, so there isn’t a lot of changes – just a few new story tidbits (in case anyone actually follows the plot), as well as 6 new incredibly detailed levels. [Issue#234, p.52]

The Banner Saga 2 is a story about being forced to quickly mature, about trying to find a reason to live after you’ve lost everyone you used to live for, about betrayal and price of love. A story that ends all too abruptly, with no satisfactory conclusion. But Stoic will finish it; we’ll just have to hold on for now. [Issue#209, p.60]

Two-hour campaign with pretentious tacked-on story that constantly interrupts game flow is a major source of negativity. But the thing is – the campaign is nothing more than an overlong tutorial; once you’re done with it, the real fun with challenge runs and endless mode opens up. [Issue#207, p.50]

No two ways about it – Tekken 7 is a success. Sure, it would be better if the campaign was longer, if it still had Fight Lab training mode and every single character that ever appeared in the series was playable; but still – base roster of 36 fighters, great performance and flawless combat mechanics make Tekken 7 more than worthy to be called an editor’s choice game. [Issue#221, p.70]