The Games Machine

Sea of Stars is a Vergil for all the Dantes that want to explore the Hell and the Heavens of JRPG. Sabotage Studio learned from the genre's master, but took away the boring grinding part giving life to something very catchy to play.

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Invader Studios has packaged a survival horror experience with a good atmosphere and decent pace, adding small but interesting new features and significantly improving the technical compartment. A sequel that represents a good step forward but still has a long way to go to walk side by side with the best exponents of the genre.

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Pure in its design and maniacally focused on details in its execution, Toss! is a typical example of what works extremely well in VR games, on the same level of other classics like Beat Saber and Pistol Whip.

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Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten is an exciting and engaging JRPG, with an interesting and impactful story. More could have been done on the play system.

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Starfield is for cautious and patient explorers, not for those who want everything right away. The beginning of the story is rather bland, the sense of estrangement at the highest levels. But as the fog clears, you can sense and appreciate all its potential and the free will left to the player, who really has a thousand things to do as he wants and when he prefers, perhaps leaving the continuation of a mission to better times (and statistics). On the other hand, the slowness of movements on the ground and small design defects have their weight and, albeit reluctantly, this must be taken into account in the global assessment, which remains high in anticipation of future developments. Maybe a few more weeks of playtest would have benefited him.

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A "more of the same" that surely will not disappoint fans. Although a few small innovations can be glimpsed, Trine 5 does not change the cards much and offers the classic mix of platforming and physics-based environmental puzzles. Very enjoyable in single player, even more fun in co-op, but the series is beginning to feel the need for a real evolution.

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Digital Eclipse is unable to fail, and this first installment of the Gold Master Series is confirmation that Mike Mika's team is second to none when it comes to the preservation and diffusion of video game culture. The reduced price only rounds out a truly appetizing package for retrogaming enthusiasts.

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Samba de Amigo: Party Central is the classic game you'd hardly start to get a solo game, but it's a must-have at a New Year's Eve, birthday, or any house party. You'll challenge each other to see who's the best dancer, mock whoever gets all the steps wrong, laugh, have fun, and sweat. Then, when the fiesta is over, you'll probably put it away until the next opportunity. Virtual maracas work very well and do not suffer from any input lag, and the only perplexity at the moment concerns the playlist, which includes neither many Latin hits nor many famous songs.

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Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The London Case is a game that is better looking, bigger and more fun. The developers use the same formula as the previous title, for a game that confirms all the excellent production qualities.

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Despite the excellent work done by FieldSENSE, Madden NFL 24 fails to solve some of the issues that have plagued the EA Sports saga for years. Adding poor menu navigation to predictable game modes and imperfect AI, the final result is a game that has some good moments, but has no chance to win the Superbowl.

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Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is an almost perfect comeback for the mecha series by FromSoftware. Despite some frankly incomprehensible slip-ups, like the presence of invisible walls and uninspired stealth missions, this is one of the most hectic and satisfying mecha action games, as it offers heart-pounding boss battles and an incredibly deep customization system.

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Mediterranea Inferno, from a gameplay point of view, is a solid visual novel in which the choices left in the hands of the player lead to radical turns, really giving the impression of being in control of events. However, the quality of the writing and the ability of its young author to deal with complex and multifaceted themes with great maturity, awareness, and courage in taking clear-cut positions (which should be common ground in 2023, but that's another matter) should be even more emphasized.

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A fantasy FPS not the most original in storytelling and themes but still fun, moderately challenging and technically appreciable. The combat system based on the use of three different types of magic and a decent variety of customization make for a solid and well-balanced experience.

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Fort Solis is a satisfying and simple narrative video game, with few real innovations but many themes and points of reasoning that thriller lovers might like. It's not a horror movie, so don't expect scares of any kind. It is not even approachable to works like Dead Space and The Callisto Protocol.

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I have to be honest, 3 years after the fourth episode I would have expected a more evolved fifth chapter and, instead, net of a decidedly more centered and engaging career, the competition against AI suffers from illogical behaviors that the player is forced to manage manually, while technically there is no current-gen quality leap that could be expected, without the ballast of a cross-gen development. At its best is always Ride, an almost unique game in the panorama of simulation racing and therefore a reference point for those looking for this specific type of experience. But here there is potential that goes far beyond the improvements expressed in this chapter, closer to those of an annual series than a triennial one.

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Quake II Enhanced is the definitive, improved and updated version of the second iteration of idSoftware, one of its most important historical IPs belonging to another generation. An accessible, unique price that could be useful for anyone, especially newbies, above all ever-enthusiasts and those looking for a unique experience. To have everywhere, even on a toaster.

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A dungeon crawler that delves a little deeper into the "ruolistic" elements of the first Hammerwatch while still remaining too much on the surface and offering no particular creative flourishes. If you plan to play it alone be prepared for a fair amount of repetitiveness, but if you have a few friends on hand the fun rate is bound to go up quite a bit.

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Baldur's Gate 3 is incredible, proof that in 2023 it is still possible to be amazed by a video game. It is deep, flexible, and engaging, but most importantly, it is able to tell an immersive story dictated by the player's smallest choices. Pioneers like Richard Garriott or Robert Woodhead can finally breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy a well-deserved retirement, because their legacy is safe in the hands of Larian Studios.

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Adore is a smart and addictive videogame with important messages at its core. Even if it's nothing new, it's still an experience to be had. Must have absolutely.

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Blasphemous 2 is an incredible dark journey within Christian mythology, but it's not just that: it's the evolution of a brilliant and satisfying play structure, capable of involving and exciting. A metroidvania to have.

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