Softpedia's Scores

  • Games
For 1,661 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 71% higher than the average critic
  • 10% same as the average critic
  • 19% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 4.1 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 79
Highest review score: 100 Red Dead Redemption 2
Lowest review score: 20 Robotex
Score distribution:
1663 game reviews
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Land of the Vikings is a decent to good city building and survival experience. The narrative elements are not very engaging, and the Nordic theme exists mostly for visual flair. All the gameplay mechanics will be familiar to gamers who have tried other entries in the genre before. But there are some nice touches, like the boat building and the way statues and decorations improve the village and its inhabitants. The game needed more innovative elements for both its core concepts and its story. Land of the Vikings is engaging and creates a nice sense of progression and the developers are saying they are planning to add more ideas in updates, while also squishing bugs.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Zen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory is a solid collection of tables for Zen Pinball 2 that can deliver tens of hours of gameplay for a gamer who is a fan of all the featured television animated series included.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Party Hard blends a novel concept with a great mix of gameplay mechanics. Throw in the random behavior of NPCs and the tongue-in-cheek style and shutting down parties feels quite good. Gameplay might become repetitive in some situations but, overall, you'll have a nice time with it.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Kentum is a blend of different genres, and it shines in most areas. The base building and crafting aspects are excellent, and then we also have the beautiful world that we explore and gather resources from. I wish combat was better, but even so, it’s competent and not that frequent to be a major drag. The platforming aspect is excellent, and the map is also very well designed. There are secrets to find, although they are quite easy to find most of the time. You can easily spend dozens of hours in the game, especially if you want to play in creative or sandbox modes. You have lots of great things to find in Kentum, from the automation and crafting system to the wonderful exploration, and that’s why this is a must-play for survival enthusiasts.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen for the PC delivers a compelling RPG experience with great combat mechanics and a varied world to explore. It can be quite tough if you’re trying to speed through the main quest, but patient players who complete side quests and gear up their character, as well as their Pawns, will find plenty of things to enjoy in Capcom’s RPG.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Windy Meadow - A Roadwarden Tale is a short video game designed for players who liked the fictional the main game established. The Ten Cities are only mentioned, and the threats are much smaller but the focus on just three characters allows the game to tell a more emotional story. It has interesting characters and some great moments. But the mechanics are very light and the branching paths for the protagonists are limited. The game manages to create a sense of place and flesh out the village. But, going forward, the franchise needs to take Windy Meadow – A search Roadwarden Tale as a baseline and aim for more ambitious targets, both narratively and in terms of gameplay.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Airscape: The Fall of Gravity is a tough but entertaining platformer experience that throws in quite a few interesting concepts and mechanics and makes them work quite well. There is plenty of trial and error, and sometimes the cute octopus might not seem so loveable, but you'll have a pretty great time with it either way.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    I had a great time playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and at first, I felt quite overwhelmed by the huge amount of content that it provided. The game’s campaign is not the best out there, but it’s worth playing for the creative story, new-to-COD elements, and the unlocks you get towards your multiplayer experience. Speaking of multiplayer, I still think that’s where Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 manages to shine the most. The new game mode Skirmish will be an acquired taste, but generally, it’s pretty immersive and enjoyable. And of course, the Zombies mode is one of the top highlights, it has a great campaign and with 4 different game modes there as well, you have lots of content just to play that side of the game. As a complete package, I think that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has a lot to offer, and everyone will certainly have its favorites. It’s a great game for casuals that want to get into an FPS, and hardcore COD players will surely enjoy unlocking weapons, attachments and mastering the weapons they like the most.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Devouring Stars may seem simple enough at first, but things get pretty complex as you progress through its randomized campaign and you'll certainly have your strategy skills tested. Fortunately, the great visual design and the impressive soundtrack make spending your time in the indie title a worthy investment.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Create-A-Sim and Build Mode systems are much more accessible yet offer a lot of depth for those that desire it. Sims are smart, can multitask, and interact in lots of nifty ways. However, there are still plenty of missing core items while the existing set of options are limited, to say the least, no doubt to ensure that the upcoming expansions bring lots of highly desirable things.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Ravenlok is a great introductory experience for players who might be interested in the action-adventure genre but don’t want to take on the bigger titles in the genre. The story is familiar but mostly works, with some nice characters. The voxel graphics are a big initial draw. The biggest problem for me is the very shallow combat system. But, again, this might actually draw in players who want to battle bosses without encountering any annoying setbacks. Ravenlock is a collection of good ideas and weird choices that fails to deliver on its initial promise.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Cross of the Dutchman is a fun history lesson that not only attracts through its source material and the alluring visuals but also through the simple yet entertaining combat. You'll have fun learning about the story of Pier Dosia while rampaging through Saxon soldiers in medieval Frisia.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Mordheim: City of the Damned is the kind of game that can occupy tens of hours for a player who quickly understands its core mechanics and is prepared to accept that missed attacks, failed battles, and bankrupt mercenary companies are just temporary obstacles in the quest for wyrdstones and greatness.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 is the best football simulation experience that Konami has delivered in years, and next year the series might actually be a challenge that EA Sports needs to take into account as it develops its own FIFA series.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Blackguards 2 takes the formula of the initial release and expands upon it, but there’s nothing truly innovative, apart from the origin story of Cassia and her frequent moments of near madness.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Although it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, Showgunners adds its own twist on the formula, and I think it works pretty well. If you’re an XCOM fan, this is a no-brainer.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Unlike the first game where multiplayer was kind of a mess, the sequel offers a pretty solid multiplayer experience. Playing Watch Dogs 2 co-op is definitely a blast, especially if you're experiencing the game with a friend.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The sound design is the most interesting part of the title’s presentation. All weapons sound weighty and the chorus of multiple types firing at once makes every encounter feel deadly. The soundtrack is also very good, keeping the tension up and pushing players to move fast and kill efficiently.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Assassin's Creed Syndicate is a game for the fans of the series, a step forward when compared to Unity, but not the great comeback that many loyalists were expecting.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Olija is a god game built for a specific audience. If you loved classic exploration and combat titles on the PC from the ’80s, then this experience has plenty to offer. The graphical style will be charming, the gameplay challenging enough but not impossible to master. The narrative is not too engaging but it will keep players interested. Unfortunately, there’s little to bring in those who simply lack those gaming memories. The pixelated look can easily be judged as hard to understand, stifling experimentation and making it hard to enjoy the exploration. The harpoon mechanics are solid but they cannot sustain the game on their own. More care to make it accessible for a wider range of players would have made the entire experience more attractive.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical isn’t for everyone. There’s not a lot of actual gameplay, although everything the player does is important. The premise and universe are well-executed while the presentation enhances the experience. More importantly, the songs are good, and the way gamers can shape them is unique and engaging. One has to like musical numbers that express big feelings to enjoy this deity-featuring murder mystery. Grace’s three approaches should have delivered more variety in terms of reactions, and I really wanted some extra character development for the gods. Still, Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is a unique game and features a unique blend of choices and musical moments.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Ninja Senki DX features some good improvements over the already tough as nails freeware experience from several years ago. It’s quite fun to experience as a newcomer, provided you sharpen your skills as fast as possible and don’t lose your temper with the constant restarts, and quite challenging for veterans through the extra modes and revised elements.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Conan will forever be engraved in our collective memory as the name of the greatest fictional barbarian that has ever lived, and with such a great legacy to live up to, the burden of pulling off a good game based on the Conan mythos is great. The people at Petroglyph, a gaming studio renown for their great RTS titles of the past, challenged themselves to accept this burden, and as far as I’m concerned, they pretty much pulled it off.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Linkito is clever and varied, offering players more than 100 puzzles to tackle. The simple idea of moving a wire between yellow and blue sockets to let the electricity flow is simple and gets tweaked in a variety of innovative ways. Each location gives players a certain type of challenge, using both normal puzzles for progression and more complex ones for those who want a challenge. The narrative is also pretty good, offering gamers a reason to persevere if a puzzle becomes frustrating. The presentation isn’t spectacular but mostly works. Linkito is a good introductory experience for anyone interested in puzzles and is willing to learn a variety of new mechanics as the game progresses.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Growth is a very relaxed but also complex puzzle game that expertly uses a limited number of mechanics to create interesting scenarios. Sending out animals is intuitive, and the game gradually adds new creatures and associated abilities. There’s no narrative to keep players interested, so this is an experience squarely aimed at those who like the mechanics. Growth is a puzzle experience that’s best enjoyed in bite-sized pieces, by gamers who are aiming to chill out and enter a flow state.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Biggleboss Incident might not have the marketing muscle of major studios or the ambition of sprawling indie epics, but what it offers is something many games forget: heart. It's a reminder that games can be clever, personal, and genuinely funny without being grandiose. For fans of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, or even Dilbert, this game will feel like coming home. Whether you’re an aging gamer looking for a hit of nostalgia or just someone in search of a good laugh and a short escape from reality, The Biggleboss Incident is worth your time. It's an ode to creativity, a small triumph of storytelling and design — and a testament to what a single dedicated creator can achieve when driven by passion and a deep love for the medium.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Freaking Meatbags is a fun combination of the tower defense and real-time strategy genres. Throw in the witty dialog, the lovely visuals, not to mention the crazy combinations possible when it comes to DNA splicing between humans and aliens, and you'll be quite entertained with it.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Bullet Noir is a fast, unforgiving, and gore-filled top-down shooter. Its core mechanics are designed to appeal to players who want to master both characters and levels, pushing their performance during every run to gain more points and place higher on the provided leaderboards. The appeal will be enhanced for fans of Hotline Miami and Sin City. Unfortunately, the game’s characters aren’t very different in their approach to combat, and the story doesn’t do anything special. The top-down view might also be an issue for some action fans. Bullet Noir will create a very fun time for competitive gamers who want to really master a system.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    AK-xolotl is a solid action rogue-lite mix that might struggle to stand out. Sure, its protagonist is an axolotl, and you get to save young members of the species but there should have been more weirdness to the world. The combat mechanics are good, with a focus on movement, but I wanted more weapon variety. The experience works best as a way to cleanse the gaming palate. Get into a run, try a new approach, and see how well you’ve learned boss patterns. The developers of AK-xolotl understand the genre well and I really want to see what they try to create next.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Lost Sphear is one of the few JRPGs that retains the Chrono Trigger feeling, but improves many aspects of the gameplay to offer a modern approach to fans of the genre. It's a true classic JRPG featuring a charming art style, nostalgic music and an interesting combat system.

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