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 Baldur's Gate 3
Lowest review score: 30 Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival
Score distribution:
2680 game reviews
    • 80 Metascore
    • 82 Critic Score
    A totally different Bayonetta than usual, told like a storybook but not without intense phases both from a narrative and a playful point of view. Cereza and her demonic companion Cheshire embark on a dangerous mission, as improvised adventure companions they will discover affinities that go far beyond their imagination. PlatinumGames proves once again that they have a talent for storytelling.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Last Spell combines RPG, Tower Defense, and City Builder genres, with the extermination of numerous hordes as seen in They Are Billions, managing combat with the beloved turn-based system. The problem is precisely here: each run is a complex and slow chess match that can last a very long time, so those expecting quick sessions may be disappointed.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 68 Critic Score
    Blood Bowl is a beautiful game and Cyanide replicates it in every detail in its latest videogame version. Too bad the single player is ruined by terrible AI and multiplayer is plagued by incomprehensible restrictions. At least developers seem to be addressing the hottest topics raised by the community.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 86 Critic Score
    The coin operated “classic which has never been” comes back to life thanks to one of the most visionary and iconic game designers of the 80s. And it’s gorgeous.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    34BigThings visual novel is a very interesting experiment, especially with that budget price and because of the excellent writing that succeeds in offering a more informed approach to the organized crime narrative. However the game struggles to convey the weight of choices and activity: this is a less influential element, but it risks depowering at least some of the impact of the narrative.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 81 Critic Score
    Elderand is a successful metroidvania take which adds nothing to the genre, but enhances what we are used to see in these games. The only drawback is a lack of action in the first minutes, but then the game starts to get interesting.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure is a well-written and content-rich RPG that pays the discount of a technical profile that is anything but up to date. An unmissable appointment for enthusiasts, but perhaps we should advise newbies to start from the previous chapter.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is "simply" a well-packaged soulslike, extremely derived from the previous work of Team Ninja, very unbalanced in terms of mechanics, but still fun and satisfying. An operation almost tending to experiment with some new mechanics that are not always perfectly blended with the rest of the game grammar, speaking more to the regular users of Souls, rather than to newbies. Fun and with a difficulty that rewards only towards the end but, all in all, it's a properly packaged game.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 84 Critic Score
    Scars Above is an excellent third person shooter, in which the plot plays a leading role without stealing the scene from the action, which never fails. Each step of Kate Ward risks being the last, due to a wave of alien monsters or some environmental trap, and the above average difficulty always keeps us on our toes, hoping that after that battle there will finally be a checkpoint to secure the progress made. The growth of the character is not so decisive, but it remains a game that invites us to progress to discover what new surprises await us.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 69 Critic Score
    Void Terrarium 2 with a well-designed dungeon crawler section could have been a great game. Unfortunately, the roguelike is far too simple and the new features added to the first chapter are really few, and mostly concentrated in crafting, making the gap with the rest of the game even clearer: you will really have to love Toriko like a daughter in order not to give too much weight to the shortcomings of everything that is not found inside the Terrarium.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    Returnal might not be the mind-bending masterpiece that I was, perhaps mistakenly, expecting after the praise I’d heard from friends and colleagues, but it’s still an excellent roguelike with clean gameplay and a beautiful presentation. Word of warning though: the length of each run combined with the difficulty might make it frustrating for some, and graphical optimization relies heavily on the use of supersampling technologies.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 81 Critic Score
    A throwback (in every sense) for Kirby, who brings back an old adventure of his for Nintendo Wii by adding an updated audio / video compartment to the original, new mini-games, a brand new supplementary adventure and much more Still. An unmissable "package" for fans of the character and for those looking for a pure and simple platformer... maybe even too much.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    If you consider the Final Fantasy soundtrack worthy of being counted among the heritages of humanity, then Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is the music game for you. Rich in tracks and truly suitable for everyone, with a very well-calibrated level of difficulty. Too bad they haven't modernised the aesthetic, distinctive but undeniably little more than functional.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 86 Critic Score
    World War II according to Relic once again graces our PCs, and while there's certainly a few remarks to be made here and there, it's really hard not to look extremely favorably upon Company of Heroes 3, which brings a dose of enviable content and a personality that few other strategists are able to express at the same level.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Remember that thought I advised you to keep to the end? Here you are. Atomic Heart suffers from that taste of "already seen" which ends up distorting its workmanship a bit, an important element that could affect anyone's experience, precisely due to the inability to create empathy with characters who, in the end, lived almost like extras. A set of clichés which, however, does not penalize the success of the work in its entirety. The show staged by Mundfish has all the credentials to establish good starting points, which could make more sense after the launch. We'll see: the potential of the setting is more than actually exploited.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Tales of Symphonia returns to the market with a rather lazy remastered. The combat system has aged badly and the polygonal models deserve more, but it still remains one of the most exciting chapters of the Tales of franchise ever.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Octopath Traveler II is the worthy second chapter of a series that made the history of the genre to which it belongs. The influences deriving from the predecessor are more than obvious, but the filings made to the formula, the additions and the large amount of content make it one of the best JRPGs out there.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 82 Critic Score
    Recovering from the mists of time an old game like a Dragon: Ishin! may be a risky choice, but the restoration operation can be considered perfectly successful. Perhaps the overall variety doesn't quite reach the heights of insanity of the very latest chapters, but the fun offered by the classic arcade combat system is still very much up to date, classifying Ishin! as a successful exponent of the celebrated series.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Wild Hearts is an innovative, interesting hunting game that manages to make sense of the mass genocide committed by hunters. Net of a few camera flaws and a few too many reskin, it's a very good game that brings a breath of fresh air to a genre that is a little too scared of the shadow of Monster Hunter.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 86 Critic Score
    Horizon: Call of the Mountain cuts the starting tape of PS VR2 with a beautiful game, conceived as a showcase of the advanced features of Sony's new virtual reality system and, at the same time, to honor an already famous post-apocalyptic world in a new perspective and loved. Perhaps it is not the killer application that some were waiting for, this role could fall to Resident Evil Village VR, compared to an exploratory and pure entertainment component that often takes over, but the result is still unmissable for those who love the world of Horizon and faces for the first time on PlayStation VR 2.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    While not having the quality and personality shown by the greatest boomer shooters, Dread Templar is a fast-paced, fun and deep enough retro FPS that knows its stuff.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    In recent years we have had a large offer of city builders and, more generally, management, each with a well-defined perspective on the genre or with elements of novelty. In this context Pharaoh: a New Era makes the years he carries on his shoulders feel more than other franchises resurrected by Dotemu. However, it remains a very solid city builder on which Triskell Interactive has intelligently got its hands on to modernize the interface and simplify some mechanisms that were a little too 90s. The amount of content has something truly remarkable (in fact, the Cleopatra expansion is included) and will delight videogame nostalgics and archaeologists.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    Wanted: Dead has a very entertaining combat system based mainly on the use of white weapons, full of ultra-violence, blood, dismemberments, combos and particularly devastating final techniques, but it limps in everything else: the AI of our team and the enemies is not efficient, the minigames are sometimes a pretext to unlock some collectible, other times an interruption between one mission and another, and the story, however interesting to follow, continuously breaks the action. The final question is: is a triumph of blades enough to justify the purchase? Definitely yes, if you loved the slasher films of the early 2000s, otherwise you might find the offer a bit scarce.
    • 94 Metascore
    • 95 Critic Score
    95% is a bit of a miserly score for a game as outstanding as Metroid Prime Remastered, but those who have already played the original might consider themselves satiated and save money for a work that shows no particular additional content compared to the original. Everyone else should put it at the top of their shopping list, in no uncertain terms.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 72 Critic Score
    Deliver Us Mars is a sequel that follows in the wake of the previous title. Excellent narrative and environmental puzzles functional to the story, but it is a game without novelties and with absolutely mediocre cutscenes, animations and polygonal models.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 81 Critic Score
    Everything is very simple and fun in SpellForce: Conquest of Eo due to the bare-bones 4X gameplay, where the important thing is almost exclusively to come out victorious in battles in order to advance in the main story and side quests. Turn-based combat is the game's highlight, tactical but fast-paced. The offering probably won't please all SpellForce fans, but it will certainly enlist new ones.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 71 Critic Score
    SpongeBob once again stars in a 3D platformer that rests its gameplay on well-established stylistic features, offering few surprises but still providing a fun and enjoyable experience.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Backfirewall_ is a simple but effective idea that Naraven develops with intelligence and taste. The puzzle component is witty, well balanced and lightened by a hint system that averts the risk of frustration. The most interesting part, however, is undoubtedly the narrative.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    Harry Potter fans will go mad at the chance to experience an epic adventure within a familiar setting recreated with such passion and accuracy, but those who crave it for action RPG soul should know that Hogwarts Legacy is not it features exceptionally deep mechanics. It's a game with a lot of heart, there's no doubt about it, it's simple to play and effective in catapulting you into the Wizarding World thanks to a fun combat system, a narrative component with the right attitude and an open world that may not be huge but certainly with all the curves and POIs at the right point.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Raiden IV x MIKADO remix adds nothing to the original 2007 release, but it's a perfect title to have in your library and play in your moments of relaxation. Beyond the slightly excessive price and the absence of novelties, it is an operation that, as it should be, focuses entirely on nostalgia.

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