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
    • 56 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics does some things right, but falls short to what it wants to be. The game is shallow and repetitive to the point that it becomes totally uninteresting in the later stages. Without no meaningful story and no deep, complex tactical decisions, Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics is a missed opportunity and a disappointment for fans of the Call of Cthulhu universe.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Spectra is a decent experience that's a bit too simple for its own good.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    The Star Named Eos is a short adventure game with some interesting puzzles, which ultimately fails to stand out. At best, it flickers in some moments, but it does not shine. The pacing, the low-res cutscenes, the repetitive pattern of the level design, and the lack of real connection with your character make the experience a rather forgettable one. Fans of the genre will have some fun with the game, but I’d recommend to pick this one up when it’s on sale, so you avoid feeling bad for not having your expectations met.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    As a whole, Helvetii is an uneven product. The game’s nice visuals and solid combat are way above everything else. Roguelike fans will probably get something out of it, but my advice is to try and beat it fast and move on to another title.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    The coolest effects are the flashlights and the bullet tracing, but the awe stops there. The textures are rather bland, the levels don’t have all that much detail, and the characters animations, for the protagonist and enemies, are almost at a minimum. When you put all of it together, you’re left with something that’s just there, with decent visuals and not much else. The sound department doesn’t help either. The only redeeming quality if the voice and the interactions with the drone, but they are few and far in between.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Although its theme is skateboarding, it's got nothing in common with the old high-profile skating games. Instead of being able to roll off and mess around with stuff or just experiment, jumping over bums, you are constantly struggling, ever so slightly improving, tested by the game's demanding and unforgiving systems.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Unknown 9: Awakening may not be a groundbreaking title, but it offers a fun and engaging journey through an imaginative world that fans of mystery and light fantasy may enjoy. Clocking in at around 10 hours, it offers just enough intrigue to encourage players to see it through to the end, even if it doesn’t spark an immediate desire to dive into all other Unknown 9 media. While the game isn’t flawless and doesn’t belong among the year’s best, it provides a pleasant surprise, outshining initial expectations. The biggest shortcoming is that it often feels like a limited budget production, that would have needed more polishing to hide the rough edges.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    République is proof that mobile games can have depth and can be as complex as their PC or console counterparts. Despite the many improvements it brings, the Anniversary Edition cannot shed its touch screen heritage and the control on the gamepad is still cumbersome. The possibility to control Hope directly subtracts from the initial innovative experience, without offering a real added benefit. The five chapters offer around 15 hours of mixed experience, where fun will alternate with frustration. République: Anniversary Edition is a game that can thoroughly enjoyed only by the fans of older stealth games, like the classic Metal Gear Solid.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Because of the lack of story content, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker feels like a game without soul, and that's by far its greatest weakness. Although somewhat captures the feel of the Naruto anime series when it comes to visuals and music, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker is a shallow game that shouldn't have been released.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    After the disappointing Cold War, Vanguard was the game that many fans have put their faith in. But due to rocky start, the countless bugs the completely unbalanced multiplayer and the incomplete zombies mode, this year’s Call of Duty is just another nail in the coffin of once great franchise. Shaken by various scandals on every front, it is clear that Activision does not care about anything else just cashing in the yearly checks. It is sad that the collaboration between Sledgehammer, Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox and Highmoon cannot produce something more than Vanguard. The first Warzone season might improve things starting with 2nd of December, but I will not hold my breath.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Three Dead Zed delivers a decent puzzle platformer experience but it's largely weighed down by finicky controls, lackluster voice acting, a repetitive soundtrack, and some annoying design decisions. Depending on how much you love zombies and platforming, your mileage may vary.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Despite all the cool features that are touted, it the end is just a soulless racing game that doesn’t excel at anything but also doesn’t really fail in any significant way.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    City Eye could have done something interesting with its core idea. It could have commented on the nature of surveillance, the ubiquitous presence of cameras, and the way the urban landscape is affected by their existence. It could have found ways to make players question the nature of their actions and how they affect people they don’t actually know or understand. It could have created an interesting management game by adding more mechanics. But the game is very basic and direct and fails to offer anything of value other than its setup. Everything happens in the same way, with the same people. There’s no sense of progress. City Eye shows that a decent idea is no guarantee of a good game and the development team should take the concept back to the drawing board and see how they can extract interesting gameplay and stories.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Still Wakes the Deep has an interesting premise for a walking simulator mixing the mundane and ugly with the supernatural and deadly beautiful. Unfortunately, the whole project just creaks at the joints and fails to deliver a memorable experience. The linear gameplay is not counterbalanced but the story, rather they go hand in hand towards a very simplistic approach. The entire game lacks coherence and that “something” that would turn the originality of the basic idea into an outstanding game.
    • 37 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    The core mechanics of the game are pretty solid, but unfortunately That Trivia Game lacks the presentation and the multiplayer required to be enjoyable in the long term.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Ultimately, Itorah isn’t a bad game, just an uninterested one that doesn’t bring anything new to the table. That wouldn’t be an issue if it didn’t have the issues that I’ve already mentioned. Play this only if you’re desperate for a good-looking platformer.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Top Eleven 2015 is the kind of experience that should have probably stayed on Facebook, where its limited mechanics and its money-driven elements feel more at home.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Crown Wars: The Black Prince creates a decent mix of tactics and history, with some management elements thrown in. The game does mixes actual history with low fantasy elements in ways that often work. The combat mechanics, with their focus on mixing ability use and good positioning, are engaging, especially for missions that feature bespoke challenges. But battles can also feel repetitive because of the small number of templates. The presentation isn’t always impressive. Still, anyone who appreciates a video game that uses history in some interesting ways and wants to customize a squad that can deal with any type of tactical challenge, Crown Wars: The Black Prince will offer many hours of fun.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Although the game is very shallow – you simply walk around the maze trying to eat and not get eaten –, it can be the source of some genuine lighthearted excitement in the right context.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    A wider variety of enemies, mechanics, weapons and upgrades would have made it much more appealing, but it's not too bad as it is, either.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Hellboy: Web of Wyrd is a fan letter that suffers from too much enthusiasm and not enough substance. Beyond the undisputed visual style, it lacks originality, creativity, and challenge to keep you pinned in front of the display. The biggest difficulty is conjuring the patience needed to finish the game, which should take around 7-8 hours. The elements needed to make a great game are all there, at least on paper, but it feels like the developers got lost in trying to recreate the visual style and forgot about everything else. As such, Hellboy: Web of Wyrd is even more of a footnote in the franchise’s history than the latest movie.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Club Manager 2015 could do with a little bit more polish, but as it stands now, the game is a classic take on the genre it is part of, with some clear limitations and plenty of options for gamers to experience nostalgia while playing it.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    I would put Sword Legacy: Omen in the missed opportunity type of games since there are many inconsistencies between various parts like visuals, story, and sound. While I loved the idea of going back in time to visit Britain in the early Middle Age, let alone experience the events happening before King Arthur's time, I felt that the journey was pretty dull and uninteresting till near the end.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Black Clover: Quartet Knights is definitely not the sleeper hit of 2018, and I’m not even sure if the fans of the original manga series are among the people playing the game. It’s not a bad title, but I’m pretty sure that the studio overstated just how many people are going to play it.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Empyreal is a game built with care and ambition, but one that doesn't quite know what it wants to be. It aims to balance a carefully curated single-player story with the replayability and variety of a multiplayer RPG, and in doing so, it falls short on all fronts. The result is a product that plays it safe in too many areas, delivering an experience that’s competent but rarely compelling. For players who thrive on loot grinding and don’t mind completing familiar gameplay loops over and over again, there’s value to be found in Empyreal. But for those seeking a bold, story-rich action RPG that breaks the mold, this is one expedition that is worth skipping.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    35mm tries hard to be more than just a walking simulator. It stumbles in this endeavor and forgets that a good walking simulator can still be a pretty entertaining experience. The game falls short of the experience offered by popular titles in the same genre like Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture or What Remains of Edith Finch. If you find yourself on a rainy weekend, looking for some brooding, short and not exactly challenging experience, 35mm might be worth a try thanks to its atmosphere. Otherwise, there are much more enjoyable and memorable walking simulators out there.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Back to Bed is yet another indie video game that comes off as refreshing and brilliant at first, only to succumb a short while later at the hands of poor execution and limited overall vision.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Of Bird and Cage is not a good game and I can only think of a small subset of people who might enjoy it: fans of progressive rock with a love of soapy narrative drive titles and an ability to ignore presentation issues. Anyone else should avoid playing the game, even if it is relatively short at around two hours. The developers are certainly attempting an ambitious mix and they should be applauded for that. But a lot more investment in coherent gameplay and a good story is required to make it a success. Get the soundtrack created for Of Bird and Cage if you love the artists involved because it really does not work as a video game.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Curse of Osiris feels more like a cash grab rather than a true expansion. It most certainly does nothing to stop the fanbase of players from leaving the game in favor of other titles. There is simply not enough content to improve the base game to the point that would keep players engaged for a longer time. The uninteresting campaign story and unexciting end game activities that rarely offer any challenge, makes Curse of Osiris a really weak expansion. If not for the new Raid Lair and the new Adventures, I wouldn't be able to say anything good about the new DLC.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Poker Club is fully functional, but a totally bland experience. You have many gamification elements implemented on top of the actual poker game, like the customization options and the clubs. But these do not bring added value, since they do not have real effects on the gameplay experience. Having fixed most of the technical and visual bugs that plagued the initial release, Poker Club cannot overcome the issues that haunt all the poker simulators. The unpredictability of the human element brings tediousness and a slow pace, without being able to replicate the thrills of playing face to face with another human being.

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