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Scramble: Battle of Britain:
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The Battle of Britain was undoubtedly a pivotal moment in World War II. The battle began on the 10th of July 1940 and continued until the 31st of October 1940. At that time, Britain was under an air and sea blockade that the Germans were imposing to force the British to agree on a peace settlement. The Luftwaffe started by attacking ship convoys and ports. By the 1st of August, the German High Command had turned its attention towards military airfields and wanted the Luftwaffe to achieve air superiority over the English Channel. So get your pilots and squadrons ready for the scuffles in Scramble: Battle of Britain.

Scramble: Battle of Britain is a tactical turn-based strategy game developed and self-published by Slitherine Ltd. on the 30th of October 2024 on the Steam platform. The game is currently sold as an early access and is under development.

As a World War II buff, I was excited and intrigued when I saw this game launched on the Steam store. I commend the developers for undertaking such a project - there are not many strategy games that concentrate on WWII aerial turn-based tactical combat. The only one I can recall playing is The Few, from 10 years ago, and it was average at best. After playing Scramble: Battle of Britain for eight hours, I was happily surprised.

At this stage of development, there are a couple of modes. Firstly, the Squadron Leader mode, where you take command of a squadron of two groups of three pilots over 30 days - each day is divided into four hours (8 am, 11 am, 2 pm and 5 pm), representing times that the potential attacks might occur. Then there’s the Mission mode, which includes a thorough training tutorial and challenges; an Instant Action and a Dogfight generator are also built into this version, so you’ll have plenty on your plate if you choose this mode. Campaign and Multiplayer modes are in the works, and other features are clearly displayed on the roadmap on the game's Steam store page.

Before jumping into the thick of the action, I strongly recommend either playing the Training Mission to get the gist of the combat system, or at a bare minimum, view the interactive How To Play The Game on the main menu.

I particularly enjoyed playing the Squadron Leader mode, as you have to manage your pilots each day. After your first day, some of the pilots might have been killed. Others might have been injured or bailed out during battle, so it might take a day or so to have them back and ready to fight again. I also like that pilots have positive and negative attributes, and sometimes both are related to their style of flying. For example, some pilots can take on more G-force than others, and some can be more unstable than others if their wingmen are shot down during battle. Also prominent is the effect of damage on the planes. Engine failure or having part of the fuselage been ripped off after a successful burst of bullets will affect the mobility of the planes. You’ll also need to be aware of how your pilots are copping the G-force element - if you push your pilots to avoid moves or to execute sharp moves for an extended period of time, they might black out for a few turns, which is not great if they have a couple of enemy planes at six o'clock!

Each turn has two phases: Planning and Executing. The plane you selected will be in the middle of your screen. Just below, you’ll see a diagram of your plane, which will show you the movement of the plane (right, left, dive and climb). Below that, you’ll see several options to be considered during each of the planning phases: Throttle, Shooting, Level Flying, Bail Out and Leave The Battle options. The trick is to study where all the enemy planes are and what they are doing next; you can use your mouse to do this. Then, you need to choose the movement of the plane you have selected, represented by a blue line for the British planes and red for the German planes. If you try to shoot at the enemy planes, press the Shooting icon to show you the best angle at which to align your plane to successfully hit the enemy plane. Then you have to judge whether it’s worth activating a burst of bullets on this specific turn. Check the Target Movement icon, as it will show you how big the frame of your firing is. Each turn is about two to three seconds, and let me tell you, it is super important to get it right as you have limited ammunition on each of your planes.

Yes, there are bugs, and the most annoying one for me was changing the plane’s view. I would have loved to have seen the action from the cockpit of one of my planes, but every time I tried, I couldn't use the planning phase. So, I didn't bother switching to other views anymore.

The plane graphics are good, and the game works reasonably well. It can potentially become successful for a niche type of game, but I think the current price point is too high.

Positives:
~~~~~~~

+ Accurate WWII plane models
+ Several modes of play
+ Great tutorials
+ Interesting combat system
+ Fun and addictive

Negatives:
~~~~~~~~

- Missing a Campaign mode
- Just a few WWII planes represented at this stage


There are not many strategy games about the Battle of Britain. Scramble: Battle of Britain has good potential, but it needs more content for the asking price.

6/10

Key provided by the developer/publisher for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own!

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Silent Hill 2:
~~~~~~~~~

Your name is James Sunderland, and you have been grieving your late wife for the past three years; the sorrow hasn't left you since her passing. Then you receive a letter from her! She’s asking you to find her in the town she loved, the town where you made beautiful memories as a couple. Naturally, you feel utterly compelled to find out if there is any hope she might be alive, in Silent Hill 2.

Silent Hill 2 is an action third-person survival horror game with puzzle elements developed by Bloober Team SA and published by Konami on the 8th of October 2024 on the Steam platform. The game is also available on PS5.

Silent Hill 2 was initially released on the 15th of September 2001 for PS2; I never had the chance to play the original game as the genre was not under my radar at that time, being much more interested in platformers and fighting games. The following review will be for gamers who, like me, missed playing the original and are considering playing this game.

You’ll immediately notice the creepy atmosphere; the deep fog and the sounds of small rocks falling down the hill as make your way to the town are just freaky. Playing on the normal difficulty level, I admit that I found the first part a bit slow, but after speaking with the first character at the cemetery and reaching the town, I encountered my first couple of monsters and it became quite challenging.

In each place that you discover, you'll find a map of the area. As you begin to investigate, you'll find important locations as well as notes by James that will be scribbled in circles. The notes will show you where to go next. When each task is fulfilled, a tick of approval will be added to the circles.

Each level (area) is well-designed and has a specific path to follow. Sometimes, you might think there is nowhere else to go, but check around and see if there are any openings at the bottom of the walls or near the ceilings. If you play on the normal difficulty level, you’ll find bandages around the openings; you can go through here. If the openings are near the ceilings, you'll need something place something underneath it (like a cabinet on wheels) so that you can climb up and reach the hole. There are around four to five parts to complete per level before you can move on to the next one.

Puzzles are prominent throughout Silent Hill 2. Each level has its main puzzle, and each part of the level you complete will get you closer to figuring out its primary puzzle. They are cleverly done, and a few took me quite a while to decipher. There are other puzzles throughout the game, such as doors with padlocks that need codes to be opened. So, make sure to check all areas for notes or clues.

Which brings me to the combat system and enemies. As mentioned, the first 40 minutes were slow until I reached the town and encountered monsters. James will not have weapons until his first confrontation with one of these strange monsters. His first weapon will be a wooden plank with nails indented on one side. That will be the only weapon that James will have for quite a while, and fighting the enemies with it isn't easy. I found the dodging input not the smoothest; you get used to it, but it’s not quite right. The first couple of monsters are quickly killed as they only have one of two attack sequences and rarely attack you in groups. It’s when there are several of them that it gets tricky! It will get a lot harder when you encounter monsters that look like an X; these monsters hide behind furniture and can crawl on walls and ceilings. They can drop on you as an attack, and their main attack sequence is pretty fast. There are two different nurses' monsters, which are much more challenging than the other enemies. But by then, you'll already have a couple of firearms: the gun and shotgun. The rifle will be accessible towards the last two levels of the game. However, ammunition will be your main issue with firearms, as you don't have much at any given time. So, check all drawers and cabinets in case they contain ammunition, bandages, or syringes to boost your health. In terms of the bosses' fights, yes, there are a few of them, and they are pretty challenging. It might take you a few attempts before disposing of them. Make sure to have plenty of ammunition before facing them.

There is no doubt in my mind how good this game is from the point of view of the story, voice-overs, puzzles, atmosphere and gameplay. I enjoyed all the levels, especially the hospital and the prison. And every time I thought that it must be the end, there was more! The first ending was brilliant. The good news is that you keep replaying the game until you unlock all seven extra endings and get new collectibles to find on your next playthrough. It has plenty of replayability and is great value for money.

Positives:
~~~~~~~

+ Stunning graphics
+ Great story with excellent voice-overs
+ A chilling atmosphere all the way through
+ Good puzzles
+ Fun and challenging gameplay
+ Great replayability with eight endings to unlock
+ Achievements

Negatives:
~~~~~~~~

- Dodging feels odd, but you'll get used to it
- Not too many different monsters
- No trading cards as yet

Follow James Sunderland’s emotional rollercoaster of a journey in Silent Hill 2. It's brilliantly done from start to finish!

9/10

Note: This game was not received for free; I purchased it through an independent digital store approved by Steam (Valve).

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Loco Motive:
~~~~~~~~~~

It's a big night for the heiress, the old-timer Lady Unterwald, on board the luxurious Reuss Express, which she is also the proud owner of. Tonight, all her loved ones and closest business acquaintances will be sitting in the lounge carriage where she'll be delivering an important speech. Tonight, she will announce who will inherit her entire fortune when the time arises for her to kick the bucket! How little did she know that the time was soon impending upon her? How soon, would you ask? As soon as the next tunnel, where the killer will act when the carriage is blackout for several seconds while the Reuss Express passes through it. OH! But who would want to harm such a frail and wonderful Lady? Put your detective hat on and investigate who killed Lady Unterwald in Loco Motive!

Loco Motive is a puzzle point-and-click adventure game with charming pixel graphics developed by Robust Games and published by Chucklefish on the 21st of November, 2024, on the Steam platform. It has been verified to be played on the Steam Deck. The game is also available on the Nintendo Switch.

The game starts when Lady Unterwald is on stage and about to tell her captive audience who will effectively become her successor. It's about five minutes long and will set the game's tone from that moment on end. My first thought, apart from the charming pixelated graphics, was the undeniably top-notch voice-overs, which included a couple of characters with foreign accents (French and German), and the cleverly witty written dialogues of the first scene gave me a little hint that I was going to experience a fantastic point-and-click adventure game. And I certainly did!

In Loco Motive, you'll be playing three characters throughout eight parts, which include a prologue and a finale. Each character will be introduced to you in a specific order. First will be Lady Unterwald's lawyer, Arthur Ackerman. The next one will be Herman Merman, a renowned detective novelist obsessed with weird poetry that involves his name on his book title: something like Herman Merman and the Determined Vermin. The last one is Diana Ostenhagen, who is an agent for the government's Inland Revenue. Each character will start at the Police Station interrogation room, where you'll learn why they were arrested before you take over the character and play their course on the Reuss Express. In the later part of the game, you'll be controlling the three characters at the time to complete the puzzles to move on to the next chapter.

That brings me to the puzzles aspect of the game, which I found reasonably good and makes sense. Although I did have a bit of difficulty on two occasions while playing with Arthur and Herman, apart from that, it was pretty smooth sailing. If you have a bit of a hard time figuring out some of the puzzles, you can stop by the Reuss Express hints line, which are telephones in a couple of carriages and rooms in the latest chapters of the game. I had a good laugh when I used it for the first time.

The story is well-structured, and the dialogues are amusing and witty. They definitely will make you smile and even give you several giggles here and there; it certainly did that for me. If you enjoy these types of games, you reasonably know what to expect as a whole. Loco Motive provides fans of the genre with an entertaining experience with its graphics, story, dialogues, puzzles, and excellent voice-overs.

I did encounter a few issues while playing the game, and it is expected when you receive a press key, as I did. I contacted the devs and sent them a few screenshots of the issue I came across, and I was impressed with their quick responses and assurances that these issues would be rectified before the game's launch.

For me, the only negative is that the puzzles were slightly on the easy side of the equation. And perhaps, the developers might consider making fewer hints or not as obvious. In terms of gaming time, you'll have fun for 15 hours. The game is currently only available in two languages: German and English. The full audio is only provided in English.

Positives:
~~~~~~~

+ Great pixel graphics
+ Fun story and dialogues
+ Excellent voice-overs (only in English)
+ Fun puzzles
+ Developers are eager to help and reply quickly
+ Achievements and trading cards

Negatives:
~~~~~~~~

- Puzzles could have been a bit more challenging.

Robust games have concocted a little gem of a game. Everything is done beautifully, especially the voice-overs! It is a ride, an experience not to miss for the fans of the genre!

9/10

Key provided by the developer/publisher for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own!

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Karate Survivor:
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you remember the time when you stepped into your first Karate class? Master San, you were clumsy and slow and had the reflexes of a 140-year-old sea turtle. Yes, you were the laughing stock of the group, and everyone who’d had a bad day would ask me (and pay me a fee) to get you to be their sparring partner to relieve their anger. But Master San, you stuck to your training and were determined to show them your true self! You mastered some of the most complex moves of martial arts, such as the swan-crazy dislocated head move, the drunken elbow move, the contortionist helicopter move, and, most impressively of all, the pulling the golden dragon balls with a slight twist to the right followed by a lightspeed castanets move! However, Master San, if you want to be recognized as a Martial Arts legend, you must show your worth in the unforgiving . . . Karate Survivor!

Karate Survivor is a pixelated top-down action roguelike game developed and self-published by Alawar on the 31st of October 2024 on the Steam platform. Although there is no Steam Deck approval on the game's Steam store page, I had several sessions with my Steam deck, and the game seems to work okay!

What a fun little game this is, with five stages and three difficulty levels: Fighter, Master, and Legend. While I haven't played Vampire Survivor, I was recently initiated into the genre through other games, such as Yet Another Zombie Survivors and GOI Survivors, which I had a lot of fun with. But I must admit that Karate Survivor is a step or two above the other games for several reasons.

Firstly, I love martial arts, and secondly, the inspiration for this game is 80s movies, both of which absolutely reinforced my willingness to give this game a go. To my happy surprise, not only is Karate Survivor super fun to play, but it contains an element that I haven’t experienced in other games of this genre, namely that your character uses objects from its environment to inflict damage upon enemies that come at you from all directions.

There are five levels: the Supermarket, Bar, Rooftop, Construction site, and the Subway. Your goal is to survive from fifteen to twenty minutes. Your character starts the level with one martial arts move. When you reach the specified time, the level boss will appear, and you'll have to defeat them to win the stage.

On your first run, the Supermarket is the only available area for selection, and you can only select the first two levels of difficulty out of the three available: Basic, Master and Legend. I strongly recommend keeping the Basic setting for your first attempts as the difficulty level increases sharply on Master. I can't comment on the Legend option as I have so far not been able to beat all five stages.

Your character will start with one move from one of the three martial arts styles: Fist of Fury, Moonlight Dagger and Deadly Touch. Each has a colour attribute, which is essential in this game. Why, you ask? At the bottom of your screen, you'll have seven square icons presented as 35mm negatives, where you place and synchronize your attacks. Move looks are cards, and all of them have a number on the top left, representing the Move's level (1 to 20). Each card will have the amount of damage it inflicts, the range, and an extra perk, which can be either knockback, bleeding damage, or penetrative attack chance. Above the head of your character is a green circle. The inside of the circle will rotate anticlockwise until it becomes black, meaning your following attack sequence will begin.

As you start the game, the enemies will come towards you in small numbers, weak and easy to dispatch. As they fall, some will drop a pocketful of money or a tooth, sometimes both. As you accumulate the money, the gauge on the top of the screen will fill in, and when complete, you'll be prompted to select one of the three cards randomly introduced to you. They could be Moves or Perks. Adding the same colour of card Moves on your attack sequences will create incremental damage to your attack. You can have different styles in your attack sequences: two of each colour card, or three cards of two colours (styles). The teeth are needed to upgrade your perks, which are accessible after each run, and there are twenty-four in total. There are more moves to unlock by completing goals that are described on the unlock page.

Excellent gameplay - it is so much fun to throw objects that you find around you, such as plates, bottles, garbage bags, water warning signs and many others, to inflict damage. You can avoid enemies by rolling on desks or going under tables. You can also kick chairs and balls or pick up objects to use as melee weapons and even a couple of firearms. But that's not all; some objects - like sofas - can be used to create a Jackie Chan-style move, or you can slam a fridge door into the enemy’s face for good measure. And don't forget to eat Chinese noodles to keep healthy. It's FABULOUSLY FUN!

The graphics are excellent, and the soundtrack is not bad at all. You can play with your keyboard or a gamepad, as the game provides full controller support. The interface and subtitles have been translated into 11 languages. My only negative point is that I experienced a few one-second image locks here and there on both my computer and Steam deck.

Positives:
~~~~~~~

+ Great graphics
+ Five different levels with three difficulty levels
+ A good number of enemy variations
+ Plenty of moves and perks to unlock
+ Ability to use environmental objects to inflict damage
+ Fun to play and highly addictive
+ Achievements

Negatives:
~~~~~~~~

- I experienced a few image lock-ups here and there on both the computer and Steam deck
- No trading cards

Karate Survivor is so much fun and really addictive; the ability to use random objects in all the stages makes the game an absolute cracker!

9/10

Note: This game was not received for free; I purchased it through the Steam store.

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Arsene Lupin - Once a Thief:
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How did he do it? That is the question. Jump into the shoes of the famous French gentleman thief and master of disguises, Arsene Lupin! A criminal who can pull off the most incredible heist and elude the police while executing his plans. But hot on his heels, his nemesis, Inspector Ganimard, is always a whisker short of arresting him. Will he achieve his goal, or will Arsene Lupin prevail in Arsene Lupin - Once a Thief?

Arsene Lupin - Once a Thief is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Blazing Griffin and published by Microids on the 17th of October 2024 on the Steam platform. The game is playable on the Steam Deck but might be difficult for people who have visual impairment as the text may be too small to read. The game is also available for PS4/PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

The game starts at the Chateau de Malaquis, where Arsene Lupin aims to steal a Faberge egg from a steel cage that sits in a secure vault protected by two guards and their dogs. You’ll be shown how to use the camera, interact with objects and access your inventory. If you have already played games from Blazing Griffin, you'll be at ease straight away, and for those who haven't, it's an excellent tutorial.

What I enjoyed in this game is that you will be playing each stage, which is divided into two parts, not only from Arsene Lupin's perspective, but also from the perspective of Inspector Ganimard. On the last level, you’ll even play from the perspective of the famed English detective, Herlock Sholmes. I suspect the name was changed slightly due to property rights. The story unfolds in four locations: on board the SS Provence, in the Prison de la Santé and at the Châteaux de Malaquis and de Thibernesmil.

The gameplay is as expected: moving around the levels and searching for clues to achieve the goals listed in your inventory, which is presented as a journal. Make sure to use the camera angles so you can fully see everything within each area. As you accumulate evidence for each objective, you'll need to link them to reveal what happened. You’ll go through this process a few times for each objective to complete the deduction process. You also have several timeline deductions, and these are presented as a list of events on a page, which you have to place in the order that they occurred to complete. Make sure to read all the evidence carefully as you might find codes to open safes, too. There are other puzzles in the game, presented as riddles.

Yes, you will be talking back and forth with several characters in this game, and at some point, you'll be prompted to correctly choose a selection of questions and answers with some of the characters to move forward within the story. Don't worry if you are not right on your first attempt; you'll restart these sequences until you get them right, and they are not long, usually three to four interactions with three sentences to choose from. When correctly done, an interaction with Arsene Lupin and his creator, Maurice Leblanc, will take place in front of an open fire. It's an excellent touch from the developer as it is implemented as part of the story!

The graphics are beautiful. The narration and the voice-overs are well done. The stages are well-designed, and all the puzzles are well-presented and make sense. During my playthrough, the game ran well and had no crashes. In terms of control, you can play with the mouse and keyboard or with a gamepad. The interface and subtitles have been translated into nine languages, and the full audio is in English and French. It's the best game I have played from Blazing Griffin to date.

Positives:
~~~~~~~

+ Great graphics
+ Fun story with good dialogues and voice-overs
+ Variety of puzzle deductions
+ Achievements
+ Great touch to have Maurice Leblanc (creator) and Arsene Lupin interact throughout the game

Negatives:
~~~~~~~~

- Probably a bit too easy to finish and does not have much replayability
- No trading cards as yet

A point-and-click adventure that is well-structured from start to finish, Arsene Lupin – Once a Thief offers a variety of puzzle deductions with charming artwork, good dialogue and excellent voice-overs.

7/10

Note: This game was not received for free; I purchased it through the Steam store.

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Kvark:
~~~~~

Here is a memo from the directors' board to all new Kvark employees. Dear Sir/Madam, we welcome you to your new 9 to 5 job at Kvark. This state-of-the-art underground mining and nuclear power plant is the envy of the entire world and has the best technology available of the era. You should be proud to work at such a facility, and we recommend reading our security protocol manual to avoid being featured as part of the weekly death summary! Yes, this position is dangerous, but we want to reassure you that we are determined to make your employment as safe as possible at Kvark!

Kvark is an old-school first-person shooter developed and self-published by Perun Creative on the 3rd of October 2024 on the Steam platform.

The game starts with an introduction of screenshots with a Slavic narration, translated into English with captions on the images. It's fun! Then, you'll wake up in a cell by the sound of the alarm and a loud voice coming through speakers on the walls. The cell is locked, and in front of the grid door lies a wrench, your first weapon. The action will start straightaway after you leave your cell as you'll be attacked by guys dressed in radioactive protecting suits armed with batons as weapons. A few corridors after, you'll find a gun with a couple of bullets. At that point, I thought the original Doom game's feel was noticeable, with better graphics, and I was excited, anticipating what was about to come next. I also felt at ease with the movements, which were fast and fluid. However, the jump input is not the greatest.

The first few levels were probably the best for me as you had to manage your ammunition carefully, but from then on, ammunition was abundant in all the levels, considerably decreasing the difficulty level. Also, there are a limited number of different enemies throughout the game, which is a bit of a shame. Yes, all new enemies are slightly harder to kill as you progress throughout the game, not necessarily due to their strength but by the sheer number of them coming at you. That said, you'll probably figure out their patterns in a flash. Regarding the bosses, I must say that I was pretty disappointed with them. Only three of them, and all three fights were not challenging as they were done and dusted immediately. As you might know, I always play my games as the developers intend to get played, on the normal level of difficulty, and it was far too easy for my liking!

That brings me to the levels themselves. They were the game's highlights, as all the levels are well-designed and relatively large. There are a few different types of environments, such as the caves, offices, outside and, of course, the underground facility where you start the game. Each level has several secret rooms to discover, but I didn't find all of them in my first playthrough. As you progress through the game, you'll find new firearms of the 1950s era, except for the electric rifle, which stunts enemies for several seconds, giving you enough time to swap guns and kill them. As I mentioned above, you can pick up plenty of ammunition on the floors, tables and lockers. There are also medic bags, water bottles, and cans of energy drinks that can regenerate your health. There are syringes with a green fluid called anethium, a mixture of uranium and dill, which you need to unlock perks in the skill tree.

The puzzle element comes in two aspects. The first is by turning valves so you can progress through the next area, and it pretty much comes along the way. The other one is the lock doors, which need codes to open. Make sure to read everything and look around your surroundings for clues.

The graphics are fun, and the game runs well. I prefer and recommend playing this game with the mouse and keyboard, and I believe it has partial controller support! The interface and subtitles have been translated into seven languages. Kvark is a fun game, and if you enjoy the looks of these old-school first-person shooter genre of games, you probably like Kvark! Unfortunately, the challenge element is rather dull for a hardcore player.

Positives:
~~~~~~~

+ Nice graphics
+ Great level designed with secret areas to find
+ Nice selection of weapons
+ Good perks tree to unlock (don't forget the dill and uranium)
+ Reasonably priced
+ Achievements

Negatives:
~~~~~~~~

- Lack of enemy variation
- Disappointing bosses fights
- Far too generous with ammunition and health packs throughout the game
- No trading cards as yet

There is no doubt that Kvark is fun to play, but its lack of enemy variations and easy boss fights decrease its appeal!

6/10

Key provided by the developer/publisher for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own!

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God of War Ragnarök:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In this sequel, the bond between father (Kratos) and son (Atreus) will be tested to its limits. While Atreus is in search of answers regarding the "Loki" prophecy, the main protagonist is himself. On the other hand, Kratos fears losing his son and keeps training him to face any danger in the nine Realms. His fears become even more potent when the evil Odin appears at their modest hut to seek peace with them. Even worse, he offers to help Atreus reach his goal of understanding and fulfilling the Loki prophecy. The Evil God is in the house! Tensions are hitting sky-high at the start of God of War Ragnarök!

God of War Ragnarök is an action/adventure game with deep storytelling and stunning cinematographic sequences developed and self-published by PlayStation Publishing LLC on the 20th of September on the Steam platform. The game was initially released for PS4/PS5 on the 9th of November 2022. It has also been verified for Steam Deck users.

God of War Ragnarök was one of the titles on my must-play list for 2024, as its predecessor in 2022 blew me away. As I mentioned in my review back then, one of the fundamental elements for such a game is to find the right balance between the narration and the combat sequences to keep you entertained all the way through. Compared to the first game, I found the storytelling slightly more prominent and a bit too long in this game as it involves more. That said, it is a fantastic game.
As mentioned, the relationship between father and son is at its peak, and there are plenty of moments from both perspectives throughout the game that might strike a chord with you (especially if you are of a certain age). Each character will bring an extra layer, such as trickery, reconciliation, anger and more!

The different Realms you'll be exploring are visually magical, and each environment is distinct from the others. Apart from the main story, plenty of side quests are available in each realm, offering gamers excellent content all the way through. They will provide different environmental obstacles as well as enemies. Regarding goodies, chests of various sizes will be laid out throughout each realm, and some will be locked, requiring you to figure out the puzzle to unlock them. However, many of them will not be immediately accessible as you'll need to unlock a new ability or acquire Kratos' spear first. You'll also have a few Brok and Sindri dwarf camps scattered along the way, so you can upgrade the weapons, armour and other perks for whichever characters you control at the time, along with their companion. You can also sell goods or amour that you no longer need. With enough coins and resources, you can create new armour. But don't worry too much if you don’t have the resources, as you’ll always find yourself back at the tree house where the Brok and Sindri main forge is. All the characters that joined your party will be there, too.

Which brings me to the combat system; Kratos's favourite weapons - The Leviathan Axe, Blades of Chaos, and Guardian Shield - are part of his arsenal from the start of the journey. Both the axe and the blades have an excellent skill tree to unlock. Later in the game, Kratos will gain an extra weapon in his arsenal, the Draupnir Spear - a very cool weapon with a skill tree to unlock. While the shield only has one action, which is to block an attack, it also has one ability, and this ability is different with every shield you create at the forge. The weapons skills are divided into technique, range, and melee. This also applies to Atreus' weapon, which is the bow. You'll need specific experience points to unlock each skill, and it will take you some time to unlock all of them. After each combat phase, you gain experience points for both the character you control and their companion. I believe that Kratos will also be able to acquire another weapon through the DLC Valhalla.

The combat phases are challenging, rewarding and fun. Combat will occur sporadically throughout the realms, both in the main story and the additional quests, as well as when you face bosses. For the first time, I played this genre of game with a gamepad, and I must admit it is far better than with the mouse and keyboard. It took me a while to get used to the combat input, but after that, I was fine. The fluidity of the animations is exceptional, and the freedom combination of enemy attacks, as they come from all directions, not only elevates the difficulty but also gives you a burst of exhilaration, as every hit counts. Why, would you say? The obvious is that the more enemies that fall, the more chances there are to win the fight. But there’s more - each successful hit increases the rage gauge and, when complete, allows you to activate it for several seconds. An activated rage gauge provides double the damage to enemies, so yes, it does feel exhilarating. I also like that Kratos and Atreus have different companions throughout the game, which will influence your fighting approach and perhaps help you decide what perks to use for each character to maximise your winning chances!

With 50+ hours of gameplay, I finished the main story and a good number of side quests, but I still have plenty to complete, and that excludes the DLC, which I believe to be around 10 to 15 hours of extra content. My goodness, gracious, me, Ragnarök!

Splendid graphics, animations, voice-overs, sound effects, combat and cinematographic sequences! But I also encountered serious crashes throughout my playthrough, especially after each released patch. The last one, patch six, has been the ultimate devil for my system, recording a crash every couple of hours until I verified all the files. A big thank you to the community manager for posting on the Steam game discussion page to acknowledge the issue, and a huge thumbs down to the quality assurance team for pushing through these patches before verifying them!

Positives:
~~~~~~~

+ Exceptional graphics
+ Fantastic story with excellent voice-overs and cinematographic sequences
+ Great combat system and animations
+ Challenging, rewarding and fun
+ Around 60+ hours of gameplay to complete, excluding the DLC (add an extra 10 hours)
+ A good variety of enemies and obstacles throughout each realm
+ Steam Deck Verified
+ Trading cards and achievements

Negatives:
~~~~~~~~

- Constant crashes after each released patch.

War Ragnarök is a fantastic game from start to finish! The only frustration was the crashes after each released patch. Apart from that, it’s a masterpiece.

9/10

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Kong: Survivor Instinct:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Titan Kong has resurfaced. He is looking for something, and he is cranky! The half-destroyed city is on high alert, and citizen are evacuating.. But not everybody has managed to escape from the central district. David Martin, a middle-aged oil rig worker, hasn't heard from his daughter since Kong unleashed his anger on the city. So, he decides to go to the city to find and rescue his daughter, Stacy. His journey will be difficult as he has to navigate the city ruins, fight mercenaries and creatures, and avoid Titans in this Monsterverse of Kong: Survivor Instinct!

Kong: Survivor Instinct is a 2.5D platformer action game with some puzzle elements developed and self-published by 7levels on the 23rd of October 2024 on the Steam platform. The game is also available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

The game starts with a very good cutscene with David driving his car towards the city after a news flash on the television explaining the situation. After crashing his car, he will find himself on the street where his journey begins. From here, you'll go through a short tutorial before finding a steel pipe, which will be David's first weapon. You’ll also discover some sort of pad that will give you access to the maps and information found throughout the game. As I write this review, I have completed 90% of the game and am enjoying it, but there are some issues.

I don't think it is a Metroidvania game because you don't backtrack or find your way from one point to the next; the direction will be written in yellow when you open the map on your device. But it is undoubtedly an excellent platformer game that has plenty of things going for it. The levels are well-designed, with plenty of obstacles to navigate; you’ll encounter electric cables on the floor, fire and lava, and creatures such as spiders and lizards will run towards you at speed. Doors will need keys to open them, and grid metal and trap doors will be chained with padlocks that can only be destroyed by shooting a bullet or smashing it with a large hammer. Make sure to check all walls and the floor as they may already be damaged, and you can destroy them with your hammer. You can also use explosive barrels to destroy walls, webs, and other strange obstacles that the Titans have sprayed around the levels. The puzzle side of the game involves finding gears to repair generators to open doors that need electricity to get by, and switching power on or off to access some areas.

Within each area, you need to reach the Bioware signals, which are pulsing energy fields. To unlock a new area, you’ll want to lure a Titan. You do this by accumulating a certain number of Bioware signals and then matching segments of Bioware waves to form a complete wave. You'll find a few other objects while exploring the ruins: water bottles to increase David's health bar, medic bags to restore his health and magasines to increase the number of bullets he can load into his gun. There are ammunition cases here and there - you can't miss them as they will have the Monarch's symbol.

That brings me to the fighting system. It’s ok, but it could've been much better. The fighting against the mercenaries, where you have to hit enemies with a pipe or hammer and dodge their attacks, is on point. I did have a bit of trouble changing direction a few times when enemies were coming at me from left and right simultaneously. I like how easy it is to use David's gun; the aiming system is sound.

However, I did not like my encounters with some creatures that moved towards David at full speed while using the hammer as a weapon - the input is a bit off. You can use the gun, but the ammunition is always low. The same thing happened here and there when David was jumping from one platform to another - I don’t know on earth he reached it, he is so far from it!
I immensely enjoyed the sections when one of the Titans chased David through the building ruins. That was fun! And when the big spider was chasing David, we twice had to despatch one of the speedy-Gonzales spiders! It took me a while to finish that one due to the under-performing input, which was frustrating.

The graphics and sound effects are excellent. The story is just average, and I don't like David's voice-overs; it sounds like he is talking through a glass - horrible!

The game has been translated into eleven languages and offers full controller support. It's recommended to play with a game controller.

Positives:
~~~~~~~

+ Good graphics
+ The levels are well-designed and offer a balance of exploring, fighting and puzzle-solving gameplay
+ The Titan chasing scenes are challenging but fair as well as fun
+ Achievements

Negatives:
~~~~~~~~

- David's voice-overs are horrible
- A few issues with the combat input system
- Issues while jumping from one platform to another
- No trading cards as yet

Kong: Survivor Instinct has good graphics and well-designed levels, with challenging fights and escape segments from Titans. A Monsterverse platformer worth playing.

7/10

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63 Days:
~~~~~~~

63 Days is the story of the Polish resistance's desperate fight against the Nazi occupiers in Warsaw, Poland, in late 1944. The Red Army's advance toward the Polish Capital put the Wehrmacht on the back foot, in full retreat, offering a window of opportunity for a small group of freedom fighters to liberate the city. Dive into wartorn Warsaw and follow the 63-day journey of these brave fighters!

63 Days is a real-time tactic strategy game developed and self-published by Destructive Creations on the 27 of September 2024 on the Steam platform. The game is also available on PS4/PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

As a fan of the genre, I must admit that 63 days was on my radar for quite some time, and I was excited to receive a review key and give it a go. Well, after 30 hours of gameplay, here are my thoughts!

The campaign comprises six extensive missions, which you can play in four difficulty levels. I would recommend starting on the normal difficulty level for both new and avid players of this genre of game. When you launch the first mission, you can choose to go through the tutorial or bypass it. I recommend going through the tutorial; it will give you a good insight into how to play the game and how challenging it is.

There are great illustration cutscenes before each mission, with excellent voice-overs. Expect plenty of trial and error and plenty of deaths. Finding the right path to complete a mission can be tricky. Each map is huge! More than once I asked myself how long it would take me to finish, and more than once I was surprised to see that new objectives were added. I liked that!

There are five playable characters, including two brothers. Lynx, the older brother, is a true fighter who can lure enemies to a position by whistling, and choke enemies by sneaking behind them for a silent kill. He can throw grenades and is also a sniper, but is neither quick nor agile. His brother, whom everyone calls Youngster, is agile and fast. He can climb walls and distract enemies by throwing rocks to specific positions to lure them there. His primary skill is throwing a knife to kill enemies. In addition to the brothers, there is Helga, Henius and Storm. The nurse Helga can lure enemies toward her by pretending to be dead, and also throws rocks to stun enemies who don't wear helmets! Henius is a teenageer with a skinny frame that allows him to slide through small gaps between walls and enter buildings through vents. He can also stun enemies without helmets by hitting them with a baseball bat from behind or pushing them off buildings to their deaths. And then there is Storm, the enforcer - deadly from behind with a knife, expert with machine guns and bazookas.

At the start of each mission, all the characters except Storm will be without guns, but you can grab their weapons after the enemy soldiers have been killed. Remember that Henius and Helga can only use a handgun, and Storm and Youngster machine guns, but Lynx can use everything.

Be careful not to leave bodies lying around that can be seen by enemy soldiers, as it can alert them to sound the alarm, causing all sorts of strife. So, study the enemies' movements around the map and decide where you can hide the bodies before striking - a manhole or an empty building, perhaps! You can also hide in manholes and empty buildings yourself, but if the alarm is raised, the enemy soldiers will probably check them out. Oh, and don't forget to look for collectibles within each level.

The interface is straightforward to use, and I like how you can use the Planning Mode to easily combine a strike with two characters simultaneously. However, sometimes you must go out with all guns blazing and use the Combat Mode, where you take control of a character and shoot at the enemies like a good action game.

As much as I enjoyed playing this game, I encountered quite a few bugs, including the objectives disappearing, characters getting stuck, and a few other minor glitches. But one major bug annoyed me immensely – the objectives disappearing. This began on the first mission, where all the objectives were completed, but I couldn't get the crew to the hangar. I had not eliminated every soldier on the map at this stage. In the first part of the mission, about ten soldiers were talking in the barracks. As no more objectives were highlighted, I didn't bother killing these soldiers and left them chit-chatting. But I did kill everybody else on the map. After a few hours of frustration, making no progress, I decided to go back to the barracks and kill the chatting soldiers. Bingo! I could finally finish the mission.

The graphics are beautiful, and I enjoyed the narrative illustration with great voice-overs. The levels are well-designed and extensive. The game has been translated into 13 languages, has full controller support and can be played on your Steamdeck!

Positives:
~~~~~~~

+ Great graphics
+ The campaign consists of six extensive missions
+ Four levels of difficulty
+ Five different playable characters with unique abilities
+ Achievements and trading cards

Negatives:
~~~~~~~~

- It has some bugs, especially the objective bug, which was close to being a game-breaking bug for me!

Despite annoying bugs, 63 days is a good real-time tactic strategy game with extensive missions that will keep you going for ages.

7/10

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Thief Simulator 2:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The nine-to-five daily job routine hasn't been for you. From a young age, you realised that being told what to do and how to do it for a small amount of money per hour is ridiculous. Oh, and that hourly rate is the gross wage - the tax department is going to take a good chunk of that! "If you’re paying taxes, it means that you’re making money." No kidding! What you did discover, however, is that you enjoy working at night, being your own boss and making up to six months' income in one night, tax-free! You even get extended holidays with all expenses paid if you are unlucky and caught by the police. You'll experience it all in Thief Simulator 2.

Thief Simulator 2 is a first-person simulation game developed by Cookie Dev and published by PlayWay S.A. on the Steam platform on the 3rd of October, 2023. The game is also available on PS5, and the Xbox Series X|S will be released around September 2024. There is also a Nintendo Switch version currently in the works.

Thief Simulator 2 consists of a Story and a Free mode with three difficulty levels: Easy, Normal and Hardcore. If, like me, this is your first experience with a game in this series, I strongly suggest playing the Story mode - not only will the missions become progressively more challenging, but you'll also have new tutorials to show you how to use new gadgets and techniques as you progress through the game.

In the Story mode, you have infuriated some big guys in town. A friend of yours hands you a lifeline - he is willing to settle the issue with the gang in exchange for your doing some jobs for him and paying him back. Most of these jobs will take place on Maddison Street, where there are 16 houses to break into. There is apparently another street, but I haven't managed to get to it in my 15 hours of gameplay. There are also heists to complete, which can only be activated from your hideout.

Your first couple of jobs will be a walk in the park, but from there onwards, you'll need to elevate your skills and ensure you have a plan of action to complete your missions. It is essential to identify how many people and pets live in each house, along with their daily movements. There are a few ways to find out. The first one is to watch them from a safe distance, marking them using the middle button on your mouse and then clicking the right button to activate the Planning mode. That can take some time as the Planning mode will only record the individual you marked for five to six hours, and with 24 hours in a day you'll be watching the individual all day long. And if the house has four tenants, including pets, you'll be watching that house for a few days. The second option is to head up to your hideout and use the dark browser on your computer to find break-in tips for each house, including information on the tenants' routines, the security system and loot. But it will cost you money to access that information. Alternatively, you can plant a micro camera in the house letterbox for a day, but you'll only be able to discover the tenant's movements this way.

To get access to new tools so you can break into houses that have better locks and security, you’ll need to gain experience to unlock new skills. How do you do that? By stealing goods! Also by completing missions on the Hell Neighbour website, which vary from planting evidence, to stealing or breaking a specific object, to photographing rooms in a house. Accessing the dark browser from your hideout, you can choose Thief Contracts and Claim Rewards, and receive money for your trouble. Go to Joe's Pawnshop to sell any items that you’ve stolen, or check the Black Bay app on your computer first to see if you can get a better price.

Every time you level up, you'll gain a skill point that you can use to unlock a new skill. However, most new skills also require a level of experience. So, if the next skill to unlock requires you to be level five and you are only at level three, you must level up twice before you can unlock that skill. There are 31 skills to unlock, including eight special ones.

Regarding the gameplay, I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. The camera movements and the animations are smooth. I like the fact that you have to plan your break-in, not necessarily meticulously, but you’ll need a specific plan for each different break-in. For instance, if you have to destroy an item, such as a washing machine, and the tenants are at home most of the time, a daytime break-in is out of the question - it must be at night, with all the exit points open and your car close by. There is a lot of stealth and suspense all the way. It’s fun to have to move super slowly around individuals sleeping in their beds, and open drawers, cabinets, and wardrobes really gently so as not to wake them. But what if they do wake up and spot you? Well, if the tenants are not armed and your car is nearby to facilitate your escape, even if the cops are called in, you'll probably be ok. But if your vehicle is parked a bit further down the street, you might need to hide somewhere, such as in a dumpster, under a bed or inside a wardrobe until the cops leave. It also depends on whether you’ve already been spotted that day, in which case the cops will be on higher alert and it will take a good while before they drop the search. I like the various actions, such as pickpocketing, unlocking doors with different tools, hacking locked stolen phones and laptops, opening containers with a torch and safecracking. Make sure you read any notes you find lying around, as they might contain hints about where to find a stash, such as a parcel code. And if you stroll in the park and the public phone rings, maybe take the call for a speedy mission. All these aspects work together to make Thief Simulator 2 a good game.

The graphics and the soundtrack are great. I haven't experienced any issues so far, although I understand the game was released a while back on PC. It has been translated into 14 languages and has achievements and trading cards.

Positives:
~~~~~~~

+ Great graphics and soundtrack
+ Two modes of play with three difficulty settings
+ The skills tree is small but relevant
+ The developers have thought the concept through and offered a high level of realism
+ It's fun, addictive, full of stealth and suspense
+ Achievements and trading cards

Negatives:
~~~~~~~~
- Large items such as televisions and printers that you throw out the windows don't break when hitting the floor.

They nailed this concept! Watch, plan and execute the perfect robberies and then sell the proceeds to the local pawnshop. Be super silent, don't be seen, and live through tense moments in Thief Simulator 2.

8/10

Key provided by the developer/publisher for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own!

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