Echo is basically an experiment that was made on a limited budget. Hence its unique approach to AI, which is offset by monotonous decorum and general lack of variety. To enjoy it, you have to be on the same wavelength as the developers – that is, be excited about exploring new concepts that mainstream industry doesn’t give a damn about. [Issue#226, p.50]

A few jokes really nail it, including the ones that lampshade adventure game tropes. Still, it’s very hit-and-miss, and while the Darkestville Castle can be entertaining, it’s not something to write home about. [Issue#226, p.58]

The fact that sometimes you just can’t avoid grinding dials back the excitement, but doesn’t kill it. Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a fun game with extraordinary graphics, a real treat to a fan of the genre. [Issue#226, p.36]

Hopefully, by the time Machine Games starts work on Wolfenstein 3, they will find a writer who understands that fast-paced action does not mix well with protagonist’s constant complaining. [Issue#225, p.52]

At a glance, Super Mario Odyssey is nothing but a peculiar game. After spending a few minutes with it, you find it oddly fun, and after an hour or two you simply fall in love with it. But even that is just the beginning: any time you think you’ve seen it all, Super Mario Odyssey will find a way to surprise and challenge you. [Issue#225, p.56]

From the first announcement we’ve been asking ourselves: do they have guts to roll with the “hardcore Imperial operative” theme to the end, without the usual twist of having her defect to rebels? Of course not, but what’s worse is that her desertion feels incredibly forced. [Issue#225, p.72]

The story about missing cats and drug dealers comes short in terms of both magnitude and humor when compared to The Stick of Truth. Even the jokes are very hit-and-miss, often suffering from short setups and predictable payoffs. [Issue#225, p.48]

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]

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]

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]

Although dialogue writers were burning the midnight oil, the team responsible for combat was obviously slacking off and did nothing to really improve that mess of a close combat which ELEX inherited from Risen. Monster fights are as choppy, unnatural and buggy as ever, for example, enemies slide right up a steep slope if they happen to dodge in that direction. [Issue#225, p.68]

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]

Call of Duty is built like a theme park ride that goes too fast for you to examine the details closely. That went smoothly with previous installments, but WWII abandons health regeneration in favor of old-fashioned health packs, which forces you to play slowly and carefully – and that lets you notice things you weren’t supposed to. [Issue#225, p.60]

Ubisoft Montreal managed to make Egypt not only beautiful, but extremely atmospheric. When you’re admiring the city and a mounted patrol rushes past you, you always get that urge to step aside to avoid getting trampled, even though you know you can eviscerate them all in a blink of an eye. [Issue#225, p.32]

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]

The problem of Warhammer II’s campaign is that it’s not a grand-campaign. Traditionally, numerical Total Wars offered an expansionist gameplay, while intermediate games experimented with things like special victory conditions and new mechanics – and stuff that works best found its way into next numerical installation. With Warhammer II, Creative Assembley eschews that practice in favor of from drawing board straight to the game approach. [Issue#224, p.64]

In time you’ll get a whole network of professionals ranging from a demolitions expert to a hacker, with Sebastian as the leader and the designated point man. Yes, now you’re a predator, not prey. [Issue#224, p.30]

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]

Monsters look great, but their physical model is severely lacking, which you can’t help but notice every time you just clip right through their tails or necks. Yet, the game somehow manages to overload 3DS’ hardware to the point some older models can’t keep up and drop framerate to unacceptable levels. [Issue#224, p.56]

Nintendo brings back Samus Aran with a remake that’s better all-around than the original. Hopefully, N’s next move will be to finally make a completely new game starring her. [Issue#224, p.54]

Even though people familiar with the original LiS already know how Rachel and Chloe’s friendship is going to end, it doesn’t spoil the game – on the contrary, that shadow of inescapable tragedy adds a subtle but important tone to the story.[Issue#224, p.48]

Of course, FM7 has its share of problems, like shortage of tracks for some car classes, lack of management options in career mode and all-but-braindead AI, but the point is – it’s finally possible to play for the driving experience itself.[Issue#224, p.50]

EA Canada gave their all to story mode. Even though there’s far less leeway for story writers in FIFA than in, say, an FPS game, they’ve managed to weave a compelling story that puts Battlefield to shame. [Issue#224, p.63]

Despite its shortcomings, Original Sin 2 is still a game worth playing, because no other RPG on the market is as comprehensive when it comes to exploration, action and roleplaying options. Sure, the sequel falls short of our expectations – but it’s still miles ahead of its competition. [Issue#224, p.38]

It’s a great hardcore game that can enrage even the calmest person on Earth. Cuphead is difficult and unforgiving, but at the same time you can’t help but come back to it over and over until you learn the patterns of yet another boss and finally manage to knock him on his back. [Issue#224, p.34]

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]

There’s only one major drawback for Star Story: one playthrough lasts under two hours. Sure, you’ll probably have to replay it multiple times to understand its story, but what that does for length, it subtracts from fun – there’s simply no way not to get annoyed when you have to click through the dialogue you’ve seen five times already. [Issue#223, p.71]

We can’t say that Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle has no other issues besides graphics: some people won’t like weird scenery of the Mushroom Kingdom, others will be annoyed by somewhat blunt humor. But there’s no doubt about the bottom line: Switch owners got a good brand-new tactic game. [Issue#223, p.68]