The Games Machine's Scores

  • Games
For 2,678 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 71% higher than the average critic
  • 7% same as the average critic
  • 22% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 4.3 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 79
Highest review score: 99 Red Dead Redemption 2
Lowest review score: 30 Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival
Score distribution:
2680 game reviews
    • 72 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Legend of Mana is back on modern consoles after more than 20 years, and it's still quite enjoyable despite some gameplay wrinkles.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 61 Critic Score
    Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games fails to revive the glories of the multi-event classics of the past. The development team's surprising choice in disciplines didn't pay off, with so many events lacking in appeal and quickly becoming boring. There are definitely successful moments (athletics, swimming) and with friends you can spend some pleasant hours, but in the long run there are no real reasons to keep playing and winning gold medals.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 72 Critic Score
    Although I am convinced Red Solstice 2: Survivors will find its niche fanbase, I can’t really say the hybrid action/strategy gameplay impressed me. The single-player campaign is nice to have but it doesn’t stand out - the core experience here is definitely the multiplayer co-op.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood feels like an expansion developed with a different degree of maturity. Rather than adding new classes or skill lines, it focuses on improving the new player experience, while also adding intriguing new story content and world events. The addition of AI companions also makes the solo experience much more appealing, although obviously you’ll still have to look for flesh-and-bone teammates if you want to tackle tougher trials and events. Overall, a solid expansion pack, although we wish we could have had a better look at the Seal of Endeavors system.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    A brave outdoor life simulator in which you have to explore, hunt, and carry out repetitive tasks and missions completely devoid of appeal. The result is a game that is beautiful to look at (for its price) but rather boring to play; only recommended to the most motivated players.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    While they might share the same genre, We Are Football isn’t trying to be the new Football Manager. Winning Streak’s game offers a lighter formula, with some quirks here and there like sabotaging the field lights, but the logic that dictates the outcome of matches feels to unstable, and the lack of official licenses might not be welcome by some.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is an excellent revision that turns a great game into a true next gen experience. Don't miss Episode INTERmission, a short but intense DLC.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Virtua Fighter is still a great game, no doubt about it. And Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown fully re-proposes the old-but-gold original combat system, enhanced by a Training mode that explains in depth everything there is to know about it. What’s inexplicable in this operation is the poor care paid to the multiplayer, penalized by an old and poorly performing netcode, which heavily limits a game designed to be SEGA’s first step towards esports.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    As demanding as it is satisfying, Chivalry 2 pushes you to to keep an eye on mission objectives while managing its easy-to-learn-difficult-to-master fighting system. Unfortunately there is no single player campaign, but the missions are as varied as the maps are beautiful.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 72 Critic Score
    Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is a title that continues the path started by its predecessor, placing the thrill of a mercenary sniper’s life in a simple, linear and somewhat bland story. A rather predictable but all in all enjoyable experience, with some limitations (and some oddities) in artificial intelligence and an average graphics/sound department.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection offers three high-adrenaline action games that are still splendid today. This is the only, partial redemption for a collection incapable of convincing, lazy in implementation and technically inconsistent, especially on Switch.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    Game Garage Builder is wonderful. Nintendo has come up with a new programming language made up of hilarious characters, tasking the player with having them interact with each other to code their games. A real video game laboratory, where you can experiment and learn with a smile on your face.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 93 Critic Score
    I would like to fill this box with "buy it, it's awesome!", like Jack Torrance and his "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". There would be nothing more to say but it wouldn't sound professional. So I’m going to talk about frantic and fun action, tons of enemies to obliterate in the most creative ways, intriguing story, no loading times, intuitive and reactive controls, PS5 hardware that finally proves its mettle, puzzles to solve, battles down to the last hitpoint, planets to explore, mounts to ride, secrets to discover, weapons to upgrade, armors to collect, oh dear I ran out of characters, so buy it, it's awesome.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 86 Critic Score
    Guilty Gear Strive is arguably the best 2D competitive fighting game available, but the content at launch is likely to be divisive. Online gamers will love the highly acclaimed Rollback, while solo players might find the singleplayer offer to be inadequate.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 86 Critic Score
    Griftlands is an atypical deckbuilding roguelite with an addictive gameplay formula and a top notch narrative. I can see myself playing this game for a very long time while trying to master everyone of its aspects.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Wasteland 3: The Battle of Steeltown offers enough content to intrigue even the most hardened Rangers. It doesn't last long, but the quality/price ratio is definitely excellent.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    I honestly don’t know if Wonder Boy IV was a real blast in 1994 since I could not play it then. What I know is that Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is not a blast today. It’s kinda average in everything it does, but what I really can’t bear is how the new art style feels like a significant downgrade over the magical 16-bit pixel art.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 72 Critic Score
    void tRrLM();++ //Void Terrarium++ features everything we are used to see in modern Roguelike games: dungeon crawling, crafting with materials and blueprints, turn-based combat, character skill tree and a story which takes shape one run after another. It's also easy to pick up and it takes quite a while to be completed. The issue is that Void Terrarium doesn't shine in any particular aspect, and given the recent flooding of roguelikes, it doesn’t stand out from the crowd. Only recommended if you desperately need to play another roguelike.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Necromunda: Hired Gun is a fast-paced FPS that makes the most of the Warhammer 40K license. The attention to even the smallest detail by the developers and the excellent level design are the setting for a dynamic and frenetic shooter. Unfortunately, just like Streum On Studio’s previous titles, this latest video game by the French team is plagued by a number of technical problems and issues in the AI department.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Despite its ups & downs, it’s hard not to love Miitopia and its quirkiness. Even the most generic and basic RPG story suddenly becomes a compelling tale if you use friends-shaped Miis as characters and Miitopia adds to this formula a large amount of humor and weirdness that fills the void when the rhythm slows down. If I had a child, this would be the first RPG I’d play with him (or her).
    • 69 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection is a crispy, entertaining and gloriously merciless experience... even on the PS4.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 68 Critic Score
    This is not the game that will bring instant glory to Too Kyo Games, as World's End Club is rather mediocre. The narrative is intriguing, but the arcade sequences are visually very basic and offer little to no challenge. A half faux pas, considering the developers behind it.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 76 Critic Score
    Knockout City, as it stands today, is a very entertaining online multiplayer game, easy to learn but not without its own complexities. Future growth is always fickle and hard to predict when it comes to online games, but Knockout City might be able to carve out its own niche.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Storm Ground hits the mark by making the most of Warhammer Age of Sigmar’s license. The roguelite structure of the game might seem a bit bland, but the gameplay loop is solid despite the mission objective tending to be quite repetitive.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    King of Seas is a game that knows how to be entertaining right from the start, and that will put your pirate skills to the test. Something more could have been done with regards to dialogues and soundtrack, but these flaws do not hamper the enjoyability of King of Seas, which also offers a good amount of replayability.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Biomutant is a boring, repetitive and simply anachronistic video game with a lot of problems in the quests and world design departments.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 86 Critic Score
    Cosmodread is an excellent sci-fi roguelite VR developed by a studio that was truly a pioneer in virtual reality gaming: their first game, Dreadhall, brilliantly experimented with some new concepts. Cosmodread follows in the same vein, and with a little more variety and graphic detail on PC VR, it might have been a true masterpiece. Nevertheless, it's still a masterful exercise in good mechanics, horror mood and style.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is a re-release that really does the bare minimum to justify the arrival of such an important title on high-resolution screens. Atlus has decided not to invest further time to improve and modernize the experience, forcing us to recommend the game only to those who do not own it in its original incarnation.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    Days Gone provides a good challenge and an interesting story, which should make PC users really happy about this port from PS4. Technically speaking, it’s a fairly good game with excellent graphics, a good soundtrack and expected stability. Some little quirks here and there, but it will keep you busy slaughtering monsters for a while.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Wrath of the Druids is in fact a "more of the same" expansion, but it can count on a much more compact map than the one of AC Valhalla. This has benefited the storytelling and the pace of the game, although the new mechanics introduced in this DLC are rather marginal.

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