The Games Machine's Scores

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For 2,650 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 Baldur's Gate 3
Lowest review score: 30 Real Farm
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,059 out of 2650
  2. Mixed: 568 out of 2650
  3. Negative: 23 out of 2650
2652 game reviews
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    • 89 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade
    Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on Switch 2 is a surprisingly ambitious conversion, successfully bringing one of the most spectacular JRPGs of recent years to the Nintendo platform without compromising its identity. The visual presentation remains high-quality for a (even portable) console, the combat system is still brilliant today, and the content of the Intergrade version guarantees a complete package. On the other hand, the framerate locked at 30 fps represents a step backward that's difficult to ignore after experiencing the fluidity of the versions for inevitably more powerful systems, and the installation size—already significant on the original platforms, to be fair—is particularly noticeable on Switch 2. Finally, the strongly linear structure was already subject to criticism in 2020 and today inevitably appears more dated, especially when compared to the open spaces of Rebirth. It remains an excellent choice for those within the Nintendo ecosystem, but not the definitive version of the game.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Pathologic 3
    As is traditional for Ice-Pick Lodge, Pathologic 3 is not a game designed to entertain, please, or make the player comfortable with welcoming introductions, explanations, and power fantasies. It's a game that demands to be approached on its own terms. Whether you like them or not, those are the terms. It's not a "physical" ordeal like its predecessor; the protagonist's torment this time is certainly more cerebral. However, the beauty of fragility remains intact. No matter how much power and knowledge are accumulated, even knowing in advance what will happen in 5 days, some events are inevitable. Others can only be mitigated. Others can be changed at a very high price. It's not a world of heroes, but rather of humans (and non-humans) with all their differences, doing the best they can with what they have, against an enemy about whom they even have differing opinions.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    MIO: Memories in Orbit
    MIO: Memories in Orbit is a beautiful and substantial Metroidvania with excellent presentation and fluid gameplay that avoids becoming frantic. It's a shame about the trial-and-error platforming sections and the overly cryptic exploration, but fans of Metroidvania games will find plenty to enjoy (though you might want to keep a guide handy).
    • 79 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Cozy Caravan
    Cozy Caravan applies the concept of cozy gaming to a solid game structure based on trade, management, and exploration. Gameplay revolves around the classic economic cycle of gathering resources, crafting, and selling at weekly markets, with interconnected quests and progression driven by social interaction. The absence of time limits or real penalties makes the experience relaxing, but the graphics don't always support the good design ideas: flat textures, overly low-poly models, and a fixed camera without pan and zoom penalize the visibility of the scenes, especially in crowded areas. The aesthetics are certainly consistent with the cozy tone, but at times they border more on technical simplification than conscious stylistic choice.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Destiny 2: Renegades
    With Renegades, Bungie tries an ambitious crossover, but it ends up making Destiny 2 lose its uniqueness. The inspiration from the Star Wars saga feels forced, with a weak story, unconvincing characters, and a universe that ends up being corrupted by alien elements. The campaign is short, the activities are repetitive, and new features are virtually nonexistent. It's only saved from complete disaster by its solid gameplay and a few flashes of brilliance here and there. Definitely not enough to revitalize a struggling live service suffering from an obvious identity crisis.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    Rhythm Doctor
    As a longtime fan of rhythm games, Rhythm Doctor was a pleasant surprise. It strikes an effective balance between a charming, playful tone and a strict, unforgiving design built around precision timing. The controls are as simple and immediate as they come, supported by a strong selection of songs and musical styles, and a light but engaging story mode. The intentionally quirky pseudo-pixel art look feels somewhat unnecessary and disconnected, yet remains oddly appealing. With extensive options, a solid level editor, and a very active community creating custom songs, Rhythm Doctor offers impressive longevity for players willing to embrace its demanding nature.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Terminator 2D: NO FATE
    Terminator 2D: No Fate is a conscious act of love towards a specific era of video games, recreated with technical skill and aesthetic taste that go far beyond simple nostalgic exercise. Bitmap Bureau once again demonstrates its mastery of the 16-bit language, crafting a title that seems to come from an alternative timeline where quality tie-in games never went extinct. The problem is that, just like a 1990s action movie watched on VHS, Terminator 2D: No Fate ends too quickly. The challenge is quickly overcome, the longevity remains limited even when exploring the variations offered, and the extra modes fail to transform the experience into something more lasting. It remains, therefore, an excellent game in its form, but limited in scope: a small instant classic, destined to leave an enthusiastic memory rather than occupy the player's evenings for a long time. A creative success, in short, that only needed a few more cartridges in the magazine.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Skate Story
    Skate Story offers an original approach to skateboarding, using it as a tool for movement and combat rather than a purely athletic discipline. The physics are solid and accurately convey weight and inertia, while the controls are responsive and accessible, allowing players to chain together tricks and combos without excessive technical barriers. The boss fight system, based on speed and scoring, works well and enhances the gameplay. However, the level design remains cautious: the routes offer few opportunities for creative experimentation, board customization is superficial, and the quests, while clear in their objectives, sometimes feel like simple gameplay pretexts rather than genuine storytelling progressions.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    ROUTINE
    ROUTINE is a game that thrives on atmosphere rather than mechanics, on suggestion rather than surprise. It's an old-fashioned, almost artisanal horror game that enchants and captivates with its retro-space aesthetic and the suspended melancholy that only empty spaces can evoke. There are limits, tangible and recognizable, but this is a project that has chosen a risky but decidedly personal path: it's not perfect, but it's hard to forget.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Blood: Refreshed Supply
    Blood: Refreshed Supply is the technically best and most complete version of Monolith's legendary FPS, just what we need to celebrate Blood as the great classics deserve. If you don't already own the Fresh Supply edition, of course.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Cross Blitz
    Cross Blitz is an RPG deckbuilder with two souls: the narrative mode Fables, structured on a hexagonal map with events and turn-based card battles, and Tusk Tales, a Slay the Spire-style roguelite with branching paths, relics, and permanent upgrades. Combat takes place on eight slots per side, where positioning determines attack and defense trajectories. Mana grows each turn, enabling increasingly powerful play curves. Over five hundred cards, synergistic abilities, distinct archetypes, and variable enemy decks make deck building strategic and highly experimental.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow
    Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow brings the series into virtual reality territory with surprising naturalness, building an experience based on physical stealth, verticality, and tactile interactions. The City is alive, dark, and believable, Magpie is an excellent protagonist, and the optimization on Quest 3 is solid. Some AI rigidity, an inconsistent pace, and frustration caused by imprecision don't undermine its value: it's one of the best native VR stealth games of recent years.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 82 Critic Score
    Kingdom of Night
    Using a font similar to Times New Roman for almost the entire interface isn't a great idea; I understand the intention to reference Stranger Things here as well, but, well, it looks a bit like a poorly printed business card. However, it immediately gives an idea of ​​what the whole game will be like: no frills, focused on the essentials, but capable of doing its job very well. In fact, there are no flaws in the execution, everything works wonderfully, and there are a lot of quests to complete, many people to talk to, and countless monsters to kill. The problem, if anything, is managing to maintain the momentum and interest throughout the game, and this essentially depends on your affinity with the genre. A pleasant indie title, which perhaps requires some minor tweaks here and there, but which is worth the price at which it is sold.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered International
    Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song Remastered International is a thoughtful tribute to a peculiar and unrepeatable way of understanding Japanese role-playing games. The Italian localization finally makes accessible an extraordinarily free and unpredictable system, which rewards curiosity and punishes a linear approach with the same unwavering naturalness with which it allows quests to disappear without warning. The quality-of-life options, additional characters, and interface refinements mitigate the harshness of its historical rough edges, but do not distort its profound logic: Romancing Saga remains a living, ever-changing, sometimes unsettling ecosystem, always ready to surprise those who accept to be guided by the unexpected. Not a remaster for everyone, but an open door to a universe that resists compromise and continues to exist for those who seek, in JRPGs, something radically different from the usual.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    Possessor(s)
    Possessor(s) aims to combine action platforming and Metroidvania in a devastated urban world, offering great mobility and a combat system without contact damage, making battles more fair and dynamic. The original visual atmosphere, good writing by the Luca–Rhem duo, and creative level design are somewhat overshadowed by some graphical oversights and a control system that is not always precise. The lack of a grace period when taking damage can be very punishing when there are multiple enemies on screen. A solid game, but with imperfections that limit its impact in one of the most competitive markets.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    Octopath Traveler 0
    Octopath Traveler 0 is not only an ambitious bridge between past and present, but Square Enix's most mature attempt to reconcile the mobile nature of the original project with the expectations of a JRPG for home consoles. Its monumental structure, the dark, melodramatic, and uncompromising narrative, and the richness of its strategic mechanics deliver an experience that, while stemming from a gacha title, manages to establish itself as an authentic and significant chapter in the series. It's a long, at times challenging journey that requires patience and dedication, but one that rewards with a sense of growth, community, and discovery that is rare even in the modern landscape of the genre. Octopath Traveler continues to represent one of the most consistent and passionate interpretations of the classic JRPG.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    HORSES
    Disturbing and outside of any canon: horses is a journey into the loss of innocence.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
    Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a game that exists in constant tension between what it is and what it could have been. It has moments where it recaptures the rarefied atmosphere of its predecessors, recovering that sense of isolation, wonder, and discovery that defined the series, but it quickly stumbles over choices that dilute its rhythm and identity. It's a chapter that's enjoyable to play and, in more than one instance, truly shines. Yet it never quite manages to shake off the feeling of having been held back, polished, and constrained by timid decisions, perhaps a legacy of an overly complicated development process. It's not the chapter that will mark a new direction, but neither is it a bitter disappointment. It's a game suspended between ambition and caution, imperfect but sincere, that deserves a chance: when Beyond finds its voice, even if only for a moment, it still reminds us why Metroid is Metroid.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 86 Critic Score
    MARVEL Cosmic Invasion
    Marvel Cosmic Invasion once again confirms Tribute Games' ability to engage with a genre they know inside out, without sacrificing their own identity. It's a brilliant homage to the beat 'em ups of yore, finding fertile ground for ideas, pace, and character in Marvel's cosmic landscape. Some sporadic frame rate drops in the most intense situations and the natural loss of momentum when playing solo don't detract from its solidity, nor from the care that shines through in every aesthetic and mechanical choice. We weren't able to fully evaluate the online multiplayer, but its presence completes an already generous package. Overall, it's a thoughtful and genuine production that puts the focus back on what really matters: the pure pleasure of the action.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 68 Critic Score
    Terrifier: The ARTcade Game
    Terrifier: The ARTcade Game is a side-scrolling beat 'em up inspired by the Double Dragon arcade cabinet, featuring four playable characters from Damien Leone's horror franchise. It offers good pixel art, a chiptune soundtrack, convincing CRT/VHS filters, and six modes, including Arcade, Story, and Boss Rush. The combat system is basic, based on two attacks and a special move, with gory finishers and collectible weapons. However, imprecise hitboxes, chaotic priorities, and broken pacing detract from the experience, making the title appealing only to the most die-hard fans.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Neon Inferno
    An entertaining retro shooter featuring appealing aesthetics and refined, varied gameplay that is just the right amount of challenging. Those who grew up playing old classics such as Wild Guns, Contra, and Cabal will feel right at home, but they will have to work hard to reach the end credits.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Dispatch
    The modern superhero genre, with its real-world heroes and corporate dynamics, is very complicated to manage, even for those who work with superheroes every day. ​​To perfectly capture its nuances, while also offering an original perspective, and to do so through a narrative adventure—another genre that's not easy to handle—is a success we truly didn't see coming. Dispatch is surprising, even just for how it manages to handle and connect such diverse dynamics within an experience that keeps you glued to the screen.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    Escape from Tarkov
    Escape from Tarkov is a solid extraction shooter born in 2017. Despite its technical limitations and uneven balance, version 1.0 confirms it as a unique, intense, and persistently engaging hardcore tactical FPS. It's not for everyone, but that's precisely what makes it special.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    A.I.L.A
    A.I.L.A works best when it lets the silences and disturbing scenarios speak for themselves, less so when stiff animations or technical roughness come into play. In short, an imperfect but evocative horror game with some interesting insights.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    Europa Universalis V
    Europa Universalis V is the most mature version of the series: not only does it add features, but it integrates them into a coherent fabric that makes the historical simulation more believable. It's not perfect, but it's a blast.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons
    Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons attempts to enrich the classic Bubble Bobble gameplay by introducing roguelite and metroidvania elements, and on paper the idea is actually quite promising; unfortunately, the bland level design and an overall execution that borders on amateurish make it impossible to tell whether the format could truly have worked or if it should have been abandoned from the start. There’s very little worth saving in this production, Bubble Symphony aside. Hardcore little dragon fans will find something to chew on for a good number of hours, but fun is by no means guaranteed.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Kirby Air Riders
    A kart game that challenges Mario Kart or Smash Bros. on floating vehicles? Kirby Air Riders has speed in its DNA and rewards the most skilled and patient players with tons of unlockable items. At the same time, however, the many facets of its playful soul risk being too much and confusing the “core” experience. Between dozens of mini-games, lightning-fast races, and boss battles with weapons, the game loses some of its focus but still remains a fun experience... especially in multiplayer.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
    Black Ops 7 attempts to redefine the series' historical formula with a more cohesive ecosystem, based on advanced mobility, shared progression and intertwined modes: not everything is uniform, the flaws are different, but the global result is ambitious, rich, alive.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    News Tower
    News Tower offers a refined management experience, capable of speaking both to nostalgics of the genre and to those looking for a more narrative and modern tycoon.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Berlin Apartment
    The Berlin Apartment is a short but sweet walk through a century of history of the German capital, where the underlying theme is life under oppression; of the Third Reich at first, and of the DDR later. Good voiceover, pleasant visual style, but the “gameplay” is a bit clunky at times.
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