Dominated by a melancholic atmosphere and a strong allegorical structure, Rime is a touching adventure game whose problems lie in its repetitive narrative and the way its level design discourages exploration with lots of points of no return: we may still want to see what’s out there, but sadly, it’s impossible now that we’ve crossed an arbitrary part of the …
Read More »Xbox One
Call of the Sea
Call of the Sea is a first-person point-and-click adventure that tries to put a new spin on the Cthulhu mythos. With a colorful and vibrant art style, the game is unfortunately marred by exposition-heavy writing and questionable puzzle design. It’s the 1930s, and a woman called Nora Everharti is traveling to a remote island in the Pacific in search of …
Read More »Resident Evil: Revelations
Resident Evil: Revelations is a game of two halves: the first one offers a claustrophobic environment immersed in a carefully built horror atmosphere, while the second offers mediocre action sequences with endless amounts of similar, shallow enemies. The story begins when Jill Valentine and Parker Luciani – two agents working for a counter-terrorism group – are tasked with investigating a …
Read More »Arietta of Spirits
Length is a curious thing. Some say that a good movie (or game) is never too long and a bad one is never short enough, but there’s also the kind that is almost there, almost reaching greatness, where we feel more time was needed because the end result is, for the lack of a better word, undercooked. Arietta of Spirits …
Read More »Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an outstanding – if too safe – sequel to the already great Ori and the Blind Forest, boasting the same mesmerizing aesthetic, haunting soundtrack – dude, this series’ main theme is ridiculously good –, and engaging mechanics, like that lovely bash ability. The story in Will of the Wisps revolves around the …
Read More »Wolfenstein: The New Order
Wolfenstein: The New Order is a game of extremes that goes, in a matter of seconds, from brilliant moments of thrilling action and engaging character development to some boring scenes rife with cliché. Its level design suffers from the same problem, sometimes being inventive, sometimes being repetitive. It’s an FPS with good and bad ideas that marvels with its inconsistency. …
Read More »Sleeping Dogs
Sleeping Dogs is a decent open-world game with a compelling premise and some interesting mechanics that give the whole experience a cinematic flair. However, it could have used just a little more ambition, especially regarding its structure: Sleeping Dogs is a bit too safe, too predictable. The story follows Wei Shen, an undercover cop who infiltrated Hong Kong’s triads to …
Read More »Everhood
Everhood: An Ineffable Tale of the Inexpressible Divine Moments of Truth is as if Undertale and Guitar Hero had a rebellious son who became a drug addict obsessed with death. I don’t want to elaborate. But it’s my job, so here I am, elaborating. For you. The first minutes of Everhood: An Ineffable Tale of the Inexpressible Divine Moments of …
Read More »Timespinner
Timespinner is a narratively ambitious 2D Metroidvania that delves into a cycle of war and oppression while boasting a strong art direction and a brilliant soundtrack. It also leaves some of its mechanics underdeveloped, but you know, nothing is perfect in life. Except coffee. There’s nothing wrong with coffee. The game’s protagonist is Lunais, a young woman who lives in …
Read More »Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Based on Norse mythology, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is psychological horror disguised as dark fantasy: its suffocating atmosphere is the consequence of tackling such themes as depression and grief while diving into the mind of a character whose mental illnesses infuse each event with hopelessness and despair. Hellblade feels quite claustrophobic because it doesn’t observe these issues from a safe distance, but …
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