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It's a pretty fun game overall. The art style, atmosphere, and soundtrack are all great. The gameplay mechanics are generally well-designed, and the story/mystery is truly captivating, drawing you in with its intrigue. However, I did encounter a couple of problems. The controls and camera can be somewhat janky, and there were a few bugs. But despite these issues, the game managed to keep me hooked.

After 13 years, it's a huge disappointment that barely made it to PC.

Despite the disappointment with the graphics, controls, and camera angle, it's important to acknowledge the talent of the creators. Suda51, Shinji Mikami, and Akira Yamaoka, who are behind this work, deserve our respect. However, the outdated remastering is a letdown as we approach 2025.

While it may not be recommendable in its current state for game lovers seeking a top-tier experience, there's potential for improvement. It's worth considering revisiting during discount periods, when updates or patches may have been released.

It was a small but marvelous production that I had been waiting for a long time, and that surprised me and knocked on my door in this tight game agenda. Albatroz...

How far would we go for the people we love? This question, which pokes at everyone's brain, defines the deeply emotional experience of Albatroz, a project by the Brazilian studio Among Giants. In this journey, the protagonist, Isla, decides to follow her brother Kai, a fearless backpacker, to the ends of the earth to rebuild bonds that were lost long ago. The narrative is rich with emotional depth, making it a journey that players can truly connect with.

With a very different proposal, Albatroz stands out for its artistic sensibility and daring to innovate even with a small production company. Despite suffering from technical problems, the journey is satisfying and delivers good narrative moments with gameplay that is as innovative as it is engaging. The unique gameplay of Albatroz is sure to intrigue and excite players.

Albatroz is about family, relationships, and self-discovery. The game's first moments give the impression that it will be a subjective experience. Still, the themes are explicitly presented soon, and we discover the narrative's theme through dialogue and flashbacks.

The protagonist, Isla, embarks on an adventure to discover the whereabouts of her backpacker brother Kai. She goes to Albatroz, a distant region similar to Argentina, known for being a mountain that is never in the same place (it moves around). Her only clue is that Kai will try to climb it to become the greatest backpacker.

At first, it seems like a superficial goal, but throughout Isla's story, the plot shows the fragility of family relationships and how banal situations turn into real tragedies. Such twists and turns require patience, forgiveness, and reconciliation, which are genuinely challenging mountains to climb and master.

In this adventure, the player realizes that Isla is not alone. Only she can reach her brother, but other characters gather around her with their own stories. It's an exciting charm, given that the campaign manages to reconcile the division between the travelers well in a 12h to 15h campaign (Even though I don't have the opportunity to spend that much time for now, I plan to finish the campaign at least twice.)

There are no monsters or enemies in the game, only the challenges of preparing for a climb and the need to plan so as not to suffer. The game's director, Thiago Girello, says it's not a "walking simulator"; he's betting on a JRPG idea, replacing physical enemies with a traveler's challenges. Sounds lovely, huh?

And there are challenges in the game! Controlling Isla or one of the other playable characters, the player has to manage hunger and thirst by collecting resources on the map, taking care of tired arms and legs that consume energy as they explore, and even checking the level of gasoline in the transport. All the items are collectible but not easily on display.
When Isla goes too long without food, her health drops, and she can no longer lead the group. If she runs out of gas, she has to walk until she finds a spot to refuel. Planning is essential, and the villages hide information that allows the player to fill their backpack with valuable items and work out their route.

Speaking of the route, Albatroz doesn't have a traditional map with a visible marker. However, just like a pilgrim, you must follow the instructions to reach the desired destination. This mechanic is simple but so much fun that it often forced me to go back the same way to find out where I had gone wrong and then correct the route.

You might think: "But doesn't it get repetitive and monotonous?" The answer is "no" because of the variety of maps and the faster pace of the game. You can explore the regions - which work like JRPGs, with open areas - but the objective lies in finding the right path that leads to the main story. The plot unfolds once you get the route right and the new regions appear.

The gameplay itself also receives new features as the protagonist progresses. By discovering new regions, reaching milestones, and fulfilling exploration requirements, Isla receives Traversal Points that allow her to improve her health and legs and even skills such as sprinting and setting up camp. All these factors contribute to making the gameplay non-repetitive.

What Albatroz doesn't hide is its artistic excellence in every respect. The scenery looks breathtaking, and the direction emphasizes this. For example, when climbing mountains and encountering open areas, the visual lighting effects highlight the intense colors that immerse the player. The game's artistic excellence is sure to captivate and immerse players in its world.

The soundtrack further enhances this by using the folk genre to effectively set the scene for Isla and the other backpackers' journey. Original songs, music, and compositions constantly appear in the experience and certainly raise the quality of the feelings aroused by the player during gameplay.

It's worth noting that Among Giants isn't as big as AA developers, so Albatroz has visible and often annoying limitations. For example, there is a constant drop in frames in random situations. The game suffers a few chokes (Especially on the PC version). The crashes don't cause problems, but they often frustrate the player.

In addition, while the settings' visuals are exuberant, the NPCs' design gives the impression that the characters' faces and frames have come straight from the previous generation. These are understandable technical limitations, but they annoy the player because they appear frequently throughout the game.

Among Giants' final result is impressive, given the mastery with which they have delivered such a bold, authentic, and very artistic project. Albatroz is a challenging game to define, but perhaps this is its great charm. It takes seriously the idea that the journey is worth much more than the destination.

With its breathtaking visuals, unusual gameplay, and creative, well-executed ideas, the game suffers from some technical issues but doesn't lose its luster. Due to its innovation, it offers a proposal that can hold the player from start to finish.

Clock Tower, a game that made its debut on the Super Famicom in 1995, stands as a testament to the power of a clear vision and unwavering determination. Its release proved that a lack of resources is no obstacle when you're committed to your idea.

Despite having a limited budget, its director, Hifumi Kono, wanted to create a game that combined his passion for horror movies (and in particular for Dario Argento's filmography) with experimental and atypical ideas for the time, such as having to run and hide instead of fighting.

The game's impact is undeniable, as it stands as a pioneer of the survival horror genre. The fact that many current horror games share its core gameplay mechanics is a testament to its enduring influence.

Unfortunately, neither the original Clock Tower nor any of its later versions were released outside Japan. But that is about to change. Wayforward brings us this Clock Tower: Rewind, which is available on all platforms and includes numerous improvements. Let's find out if it's worth the effort.

Clock Tower: Rewind puts us in the role of Jennifer Simpson, a young girl who, along with other orphans, is adopted by the Barrows family. But shortly after arriving at her new home, all the girls disappear, and a terrifying psychopath armed with giant scissors begins to hunt her down.
We aim to flee the Barrows mansion with this premise while avoiding the "Scissor Man."

Before getting into the nitty-gritty, it is essential to note that Clock Tower: Rewind is based on Clock Tower: The First Fear, an improved version of the original game released in 1997 for the first PlayStation.
In addition to the additional content of that version, Rewind also includes several new features, starting with the possibility of choosing between playing in the original mode or Rewind mode. As its name suggests, the former is an exact recreation of the original game but with the introduction of texts in new languages, including Spanish.
On the other hand, the Rewind mode has a series of control improvements, such as quality of life and other additions that we will detail below.

The gameplay of Clock Tower: Rewind combines a point-and-click adventure game with survival horror. We use a cursor to examine elements of the scenario in search of clues and objects that we access through the inventory. To make things easier, the ability to make Jennifer move left and right with the triggers has been added.
When encountering the Scissor Man, we must run and look for a place to hide, as its sharp blades are lethal. In this version, some weapons have been included to confront him, but they are very punctual, and the best option is always to take a running start.

This is much easier said than done because getting scared, running for a long time, or being the victim of stressful situations can cause Jennifer's stamina to suffer, causing her to stumble or run at a slower speed. Therefore, it is advisable to stop for a break whenever possible.
Even so, it is pretty standard to end up in a mess. And, upon death, we must start the game from the beginning, with the particularity that the location of objects or even the Scissorman changes in each game, similar to a roguelike. This also means there are a few different endings, and some new ones have been included that connect to later installments.
To make it less frustrating, Clock Tower: Rewind includes certain conveniences, such as the ability to save the game at any point and pick it up again in case we get caught. However, the controls are plain and straightforward, archaic whether we play in the original or Rewind mode.

We often have to fight with the cursor to get it to point to the part of the stage we want. Controlling Jennifer is another fight, and all actions are performed with excruciating slowness. This was already a problem when the game was released in 1995, and it's a pity that the opportunity hasn't been taken to make a fundamental change in this aspect.

The artistic style and pixels have been kept intact in terms of visuals, but the resolution has been improved. As we said at the beginning, Clock Tower is a tribute to Dario Argento's filmography and, more specifically, to the film Phenomena (1985); hence, it shares several thematic elements, starting with the protagonist, who is nailed to Jennifer Connelly.

We must admit that the animations are still surprising today for their level of detail. It is also surprising that despite being a 16-bit game, it manages to put fear in the body with its fantastic atmosphere. This is a testament to the great work that Human Entertainment, the original studio in charge of its development, did in its day.

Clock Tower: Rewind also includes a handful of new features, such as a new animated introduction, video scenes that mimic the style of a comic book, and two songs sung by voices that video game lovers will recognize instantly: Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, singer of several Silent Hill themes, and Emi Evans, known for the melodies of the Nier saga.
In addition to this, very juicy extras are also included that will delight fans of the "behind the scenes" work, such as art galleries, the cover art, and digitized manuals of the original game or a series of interviews with Hifumi Kono that delves into the development process and the new features of this version.

Even though it is a game that, in many ways, laid the foundations of the survival horror genre, there is no denying that Clock Tower has aged well. Although an attempt has been made to modernize the controls and make them more user-friendly in this new version, the renovation is so limited that there is hardly any improvement.

Even so, there is no denying the enormous value of Clock Tower: Rewind as a preservation piece. Finally, playing this vital work within horror games on all current platforms, translated into Spanish, with such juicy improvements and extras, is already a compelling reason to give it a chance and discover the genre's origins.

The game is a perfect adaptation, or rather, translation of the original. A long story short, it is a timeless masterpiece. It makes excellent and brilliant tweaks to adapt to modern audiences and storytelling, such as updating the graphics, enhancing the sound design, and refining the gameplay mechanics. Every chilling aspect of the original is flawlessly remade and even improved upon in some areas. The characters maintain their slightly off-putting presence and dialogue. The enemies are ruthless and unforgiving. The combat is hectic and best described as frantic. It's ugly, it's brutal, it's visceral. Every swing of a pipe and every blast from a shotgun feels like there's violent intention behind it. The story is preserved, including fan-favorite moments from the original. Some scenes are added here and there throughout to help expand upon some characters. The new models and voices for the characters do an excellent job of translating the original. There are even a few new endings added. Fantastic huh?

The sound design is unlike ANYTHING I've heard from a video game—very subtle noises as you wander through dark corridors, and it was remarkable. There are no apparent generic footsteps near you, just things that sound like they don't belong. Enough to constantly question whether it's the game or something in your room. It is brilliant. This game is winning awards on sound design alone, mark my words. The soundtrack is as great as ever, and Akira Yamaoka returned to produce it. The intro song is superb, subtly referencing Silent Hill 1's original opening. There wasn't a track that I felt was a letdown at all. There are even some tracks from the OG that return with little to no change at all. Not playing this game is a disservice to yourself. This deserves owning a physical copy. It's that good. This is a generation-defining release for the horror/survival horror genre, a game that will be remembered for years to come. I intend to say it all in the craze around this title. The game has excellent content, and it took me 9.5 hours of play to complete it in standard combat and in advanced puzzle-solving mode. If you're a gamer like me, who likes to finish games 100% and see all endings, buckle up for this 35-40 hour adventure.

The Bloober team knocked it out of the park, and I can't wait until they move on to Silent Hill 1, maybe 3, and 4.

Mayhem Brawler, the latest addition to the scrolling beat-em-up genre, stands out with its unique features. Developed by Hero Concept, this classic fighting game offers entertainment and a good level of challenge. The game's inspiration is evident, drawing from the superhero comic world in a style reminiscent of Marvel/DC.

The fantasy-urban universe of Mayhem Brawler is a rich tapestry of mutations, animal hybridizations, and a bestiary worthy of Castlevania. The resulting pastiche is not only flavorful but also coherent and well-written, akin to the pages of an X-Men comic book. The atmosphere, irony, and aesthetics, while not reaching excellence, are engaging and enjoyable.

In its screaming classicism from every pore, Mayhem Brawler gives us a choice of three characters for single-player or local multiplayer. Two more characters are added later, but I won't mention them because I don't want to spoil the surprise. We have Trouble, a mustachioed cop with guffaws and brawling ways, equipped with sharp nails, moderately fast and moderately strong. Don't call him "Wolvy," though, because he quickly gets offended. There's Dolphin, a bizarre cross between the Capcomian Haggar and Frankenstein, who can distinguish himself through grappling and overwhelming brute strength. Ideal if you like to, uh, leave your mark.

And finally, we have Star, the heroine with telekinetic powers who can fly at the enemy and use energy beams to wipe out opponents. She loves selfies and technology and would even put hashtags in her salad. While she is the weakest of the group regarding brute force, she compensates nicely with darting mobility. The story that carries the campaign unfolds precisely through the pages of a comic book, juxtaposing events with excerpts of computer messages.

Mayhem Brawler's campaign, unfolding through the pages of a comic book, is light yet enjoyable and well-told. With seven levels and the freedom to choose the following path at the end of each, combined with the three primary endings, the game offers a variety and replayability that keeps players excited and engaged.

To the classic repertoire of moves typical of the genre, Mayhem Brawler adds little personal touches that can give the gameplay a modicum of depth. Unfortunately, the typical super-moves (only two per fighter) consume a dedicated bar, so don't sacrifice life points; you have to keep beating up to replenish it. The protagonists can also dodge enemy blows, and the combat system emphasizes this possibility. Ranged attacks are wasted, the rabble surrounds us, and already at standard level, second of the four available unharmed is not easy. We can also shoot with the iconic double tap of the pad in any direction.

This restores a great sense of mobility to even the heaviest protagonists and gives us all the tools we need to reach each stage's end. We finished the two available lives to start the level again from the beginning, without any checkpoints. The save retains only the stage reached, but this is an understandable choice, prompting us to use the entire arsenal at our disposal to succeed in defeating the boss of each area.

Mayhem Brawler also does a bit of role-playing, placing a large set of icons on the heads of all characters and enemies, representing their status: bleeding, poisoned, with broken defense, in a jumble of symbols and little drawings that are not always easy to interpret (the duck?). Fortunately, one soon learns to "read" for oneself what is happening on the screen; at this point, the intrusive icons can be removed via a convenient option.

While not providing the technical opulence of Streets of Rage 4 or the scratchy style of River City Girls, Mayhem Brawler still has some good cards to play. The weight of the hits is well rendered, and the level design, especially when dynamic shading is exploited, gives remarkable excerpts of colorful violence. Despite some somewhat stiff animations and unmotivated spikes in difficulty, Hero Concept's fighting game achieves its goal. Unlike the game's foul-mouthed protagonists, the developers lacked a dash of courage, but the result is far from evil.

Mayhem Brawler is a truthful, immediate, honest game. While drawing voraciously on every conceivable cliché and graphical style, from the superhero comic book-style narrative to the aesthetics inspired by Streets of Rage 4, the game manages to carve out a space all its own. In a very prosperous period for the genre, it's only natural to focus primarily on games of quite a different caliber. Mayhem Brawler, however, represents an excellent second choice, a fighting game that immediately puts its cards on the table, offering a good challenge, decent replayability, and gameplay that does everything to keep your neurons awake between dodges, parries, and relentless enemies. All have a derivative, graphical style, but they are still timely in the comic representation of scenarios and are pleasing to the eye. It took me 11 hours to finish everything in the game, and I enjoyed every minute. Moving on to Mayhem Brawler may be an excellent idea if you have already gotten your hands on and eviscerated the best on the market for good.

Have you ever pondered the profound influence of the stories you read as a child? The heroes you admired, their teachings, the courage they displayed in perilous situations, and their sense of justice. These characters and their choices have shaped us, influencing our career paths, friendships, and, ultimately, our identities. But what if these stories had never existed? And what if brave squire Jot, a character from 'The Plucky Squire" was erased from the life of a young aspiring writer, Sam?

That's what The Plucky Squire is about. It is a brilliant tale about the importance of stories and the courage they instill in us.

Jot is an unblemished hero, a knight who fights against the evil Humgrump with the help of his friends: Violet, the sorceress, the troll, and Moonbeard, the sorcerer who is fond of disco music. But Jot is not only a brave and loyal warrior but also an excellent writer. It is not that he likes fighting all that much; it is by writing that he delights his fellow citizens with bestsellers that make clear his heart and great imagination. This is paradoxical since Jot, Violet, Humgrump, and all the others are characters in a children's picture book, The Plucky Squire.

The work is the favorite story of little Sam, who has an absolute mania for Jot. So much is his love for this character, and so much gratitude for the joy this book is giving him in his formative years, that thanks to some magic (we are still in a fairy tale), we get a peek into his future: Sam will become a children's book writer, and his stories, like a kind balm, will touch the lives of so many other kids, inspiring them. Teaching them that evil never pays. In The Plucky Squire, no matter how ruthless and Machiavellian Humgrump's plan is, Jot always manages to prevent it. This aspect of the book not only entertains but also educates, instilling important values in young readers and inspiring them to become storytellers themselves.

What happens if Humgrump, after becoming aware that he is just the character—moreover, the villain—of a children's book, manages to find a way to eliminate Jot from the story? In this terrible scenario, Jot will have to fight to return to his home world and prevent Sam's future from changing irrevocably, and thus that of millions of other boys.

That of The Plucky Squire is a simple story, but one capable of touching deep chords. You could imagine it as a kind of Toy Story meets Harry Potter, The Little Prince, or whatever your favorite book from when you were a child. Its strength lies in realizing how these works touched our hearts and how manipulating their direction, even slightly, could have made a big difference in our lives. The genius of The Plucky Squire is that this "manipulation" doesn't stop at the theoretical level but comes in the form of dozens of gameplay ideas that leave the player continually dumbfounded.

In its first moments, The Plucky Squire is a Zelda on paper. Printed on the glossy pages of our beautiful little book, Jot moves between the boards, as if in a magical flip book. Trees and florid vegetation, fantasy characters, and colors so vibrant they seem to pop off the page. We are already in a world that is inside another world. Like a window overlooking a universe we are privileged to see, the edge of the book acts as a frame, hinting that something else exists outside that story—a tangible universe made of scissors, sharpeners, and paper clips.

The book is also not just a book; it is instead one of those astonishing graphic projects in which, every time you turn the page, you are left speechless at the author's visual inventions: pages that read from top to bottom as our hero descends deep into a cave, others dark (so black that you can see the texture of the print) that color as Jot goes through them. It is a display of styles and ideas that make for unique navigation.

The Plucky Squire is the book of a warrior writer who is so ingenious that he can change his universe. In fact, one of the first ideas introduced in the video game is the ability to change illustrations through writing. Many environmental puzzles are solved through a system similar to that seen in "Baba, Is You?" We will find small sentences on the page describing the environment, with some keywords that you can substitute to alter the situation. For instance, a parched riverbed can become utterly full of water, and a giant road-blocking bug can be transformed into a tiny road-blocking bug. This process of looking for words within the page often involves us in layered puzzles involving classic levers and locked doors. When our Jot becomes capable of traveling between dimensions, things change quite a bit.

When Humgrump succeeds in expelling Jot from the story and, literally, from the book, our hero finds himself in another dimension: the one outside, the three-dimensional one, which responds to totally different physical rules. At these junctures, The Plucky Squire loses its 2D identity and becomes a three-dimensional adventure, where the colorful fantasy settings are replaced by a world of giant tools, toys, and furniture reminiscent of Andy's bedroom in Toy Story and the home levels of Pikmin. In this new setting, Jot as much as the player must change the way they approach environmental puzzles and navigation: everything becomes tied to more precise jumps or physics, with objects to be moved or dropped to use as trampolines. This transition from 2D to 3D gameplay adds a new layer of complexity and excitement to the game, challenging the player to adapt to a different set of rules and strategies.

The creative apotheosis comes at the moment when one acquires the ability to enter and exit these two dimensions through special green portals that allow one to transform Jot from time to time from the hero of the book into a kind of animated action figure and to make the two realities interact in every possible way.

It is a gimmick that we have already seen and loved in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, and which, in some ways, especially in its ability to play with the two-dimensional nature of paper, also reminded us of the Paper Mario series. The most exciting aspect is that often, to solve puzzles in the book, you have to go out, look for an object in the "real" world, and bring it into the story. Similarly, in the three-dimensional world, some obstacles can be overcome only by the characteristics of the paper, taking advantage of gimmicks such as the folds in books and the verticality of posters. It is a continuous dialogue between two dimensions that talk to each other, intersect, and play with a physics that is there and then is no longer there. It is almost as if two different games continuously meet in a continuous exchange, enriching each other.

"The Plucky Squire" is a fun approach that, in each session, manages to shake up the formula, offering new mechanics and callbacks to genres seemingly light years away, especially in boss fights. The first one, for example, is an homage to Punch-Out!!!, but there are also situations where you face a JRPG-like fight against what is blatantly a card from Magic: The Gathering or disputes that seem like something out of good old Nintendo's "Rhythm Paradise".

At these junctures, the Plucky Squire's most glaring flaw comes out: its excessive ease. There was no challenging moment in the game. Although the puzzles are fun and well thought out, they never prove complex.

"The Plucky Squire" is a Toy Story that meets your favorite book from childhood. It does so with all the love and gratitude possible for those stories that inspired us as children to become who we are today, thanks to their heroes' bravery, ingenuity, and ability to speak directly to our hearts. But it is also a fantastic video game, chock-full of ideas, aesthetic inventions, and gameplay. It knows how to make two worlds communicate excellently, merging them into one unforgettable adventure.

DOOM needs no introduction. It's a classic that almost anyone knows. However, some people still need to play it. And it's precisely with DOOM + DOOM II that we have the perfect opportunity to do just that.

Both games, DOOM and DOOM II, are now conveniently bundled in a single package with numerous extras, including a native version for PC and other platforms. This means you can enjoy the enhanced original games without the hassle of separate purchases, making your gaming experience more streamlined and enjoyable.

I'm not going to delve into the games themselves in this review. There's nothing to say about that: it's the original DOOM, with the gameplay adapted but still similar to what we had at the time. In other words, it's a remaster and not a remake.

DOOM + DOOM II is a game that transcends time. You'll kill demons, pick up keys, and find secrets throughout the levels, straight to the point. It's a timeless game and a lesson in innovation. Of course, those who have never played it will find it strange that, for example, you can't move the crosshairs vertically (the shots are, therefore, automatically up or down if the opponent is on the same axis). But you always have to understand the limitations of the time and remember, once again, that it's not a remake.

DOOM + DOOM II features several qualities of life and many campaigns. First, let's clarify what these campaigns are.

DOOM and DOOM II - the original and complete campaigns. The first game occurs on Mars, while the second on Earth (obviously, with a passage through hell). It's worth noting that the first game is The Ultimate DOOM (it contains all four episodes);

TNT: Evilution - is half of what we call Final DOOM. These are stages created by Dario and Milo Casali from id Software;

The Plutonia Experiment - is the second half of Final DOOM;
The Master Stages of DOOM II - basically, these are stages created by the community at the time and hand-picked by id Software;

No Rest for the Living - created by Nerve Software, this is a 9-map campaign launched in 2010. The main aim of this campaign was to highlight online and local co-op;

Sigil - created by John Romero (franchise co-creator) in 2019 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the series. It is considered to be an unofficial fifth episode of the first DOOM;

Legacy of Rust is a new DOOM + DOOM II episode created in collaboration with id Software, Nightdive Studios, and MachineGames. This episode introduces new demons and weapons, providing a fresh and exciting gameplay experience for both new and returning players.

DOOM + DOOM II offers a comprehensive multiplayer experience for those eager to play with friends. With a new pack featuring 26 maps and 43 for Deathmatch and the ability to play all campaign maps in co-op, the game provides a wealth of competitive and cooperative play options. The prospect of engaging with up to 16 players online or four locally is sure to excite any multiplayer enthusiast, promising hours of thrilling gameplay and camaraderie.

The quality-of-life features for DOOM + DOOM II include the original soundtrack or modern versions, support for 1080p and 60 fps for a more immersive gaming experience, compatibility with mods (including those created many years ago) to extend the game's lifespan, subtitles in Brazilian Portuguese for a wider audience, controller support for console players, quick save/quick load for convenience, and, as already mentioned, keyboard and mouse support for those who prefer a more traditional gaming setup.

Ultimately, DOOM + DOOM II is the perfect package for those who want to remember or learn about the series' origins. Although almost perfect, the multiplayer part could be more fun on PC. DOOM + DOOM II is still a timeless classic not to be missed.

Age of Empires is a legendary video game series; Microsoft knows this very well, so it is slowly remastering all the old chapters to ensure that new generations and longtime fans can enjoy them in the best possible way. A year and a half after the debut of Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition, it is now the turn of the spin-off that, unlike the other iterations, abandons historical fidelity in Favor of gods, special powers and mythological beings: we are talking about Age of Mythology, which in its Retold version returns to the scenes in better shape than ever.

As much as the Age of Mythology Retold is part of the path taken by Microsoft with the various chapters in the series, it would be wrong to put it on the same level as its predecessors. The title, after all, has not been called "Age of Mythology Definitive Edition," and this is no accident since it is a project closer to a remake than a remaster.

The work done on Age of Mythology Retold goes far beyond a mere revamp of the graphics. The developers have meticulously intervened in various aspects of the real-time strategy, built based on the Bang Engine that we already enjoyed in Age of Empires 3 Definitive Edition. The change of graphics engine meant that units and related animations had to be recreated from scratch, in a complex process that paid off, showcasing the team's dedication to delivering a high-quality gaming experience.

Of course, it is not only the troops that have received a facelift but also all the buildings and scenery, which look better than ever and boast better rendering of materials such as terrain and rock, not to mention the presence of far more believable bodies of water. It is enough to watch a few video comparisons between the original and Retold to visually notice the gulf between the two versions. No comma has remained the same as the original version, and the result is a product with a technical compartment close to that of today's real-time strategists.

The technological interventions represent only part of the work done by World's Edge and the other collectives involved in the project. Many changes are made to gameplay, and many are microscopic in terms of balancing, behavior, and even unit names.

Alongside these changes that only the most attentive fans will notice, there are more substantial interventions, which even a distracted eye would see, as in the case of how divine abilities work. In the original, the player had to use the power related to the selected deity very carefully since he had one and only one chance. To revitalize the experience a bit and make everything more fun, things have changed in the Age of Mythology Retold, and powers can be employed multiple times. Still, under one condition: after each activation, their cost increases, and it is necessary to accumulate Favor to spend on subsequent uses. Noticeable changes can also be seen in the final stages of matches, sections that have gone through a minor revolution. In Retold, putting on the Wonder no longer represents the moment of ultimate victory: only the event that allows one to reach the Age of Wonder. This new evolutionary step makes the match much more frenetic thanks to boosts involving Favor and the power of special units. In other words, matches end in spectacular fashion with these additions amid fierce fighting and frequent use of divine abilities.

Another notable addition concerns the screen's ability to automate specific actions of the inhabitants. More specifically, when using a controller, it is possible to access a menu to make the base units proceed autonomously with resource extraction, organizing themselves according to our preferences: we can then decide to have everything collected in equal parts or prioritize specific materials so that we do not have to stand behind our subordinates all the time.

This is a great addition that, along with all the other arrangements for those playing with a pad, makes the experience smoother. As it is evident, the mouse and keyboard remain the best control methods for enjoying such a product, yet even with a pad, one can enjoy it smoothly on both PC and Xbox.

You may be wondering what the contents of the Age of Mythology Retold starter pack are, which did not disappoint. The title offers the entire offering of the original, except for Tale of the Dragon, the Chinese-themed expansion that will arrive only later. Instead, The Titans, dedicated to the Atlantean people, is present: we can then play several campaigns right away and access Greek, Norse, Egyptian, and Atlantean deities. In this regard, among the choices related to the Norse gods, there is also a brand new one: Freyr. This is a welcome extra because of the variety added to the gameplay. Still, at the same time, it is relegated to a limited number of users (it is exclusively part of the most expensive editions of Retold).

Also to be considered is the presence of at least 40 maps for multiplayer and skirmishes, as well as official support for mods, which we know how good it can do for a title of this type. We have already told you about the excellent technical compartment of Age of Mythology Retold, which also boasts a more than good level of optimization, albeit net of the lack of support for Nvidia's DLSS (for now, there is only that to AMD's FSR,). The options for accessibility are numerous and allow for customization of the gameplay experience and enhancement with minor additions, such as one that prevents you from selecting residents who find themselves amid militias.

So, is everything perfect? Not really, since some minor bugs are present, and sometimes, some character gets stuck in the scenario or, as in the most classic Age of Empires, suffers from pathfinding problems, getting lost on the way compared to all his companions. On the other hand, excellent work has been done on the audio compartment, which includes the same songs from the original but repurposed in a slightly different way to be perfectly recognizable by fans and simultaneously "refreshed."

In its day, the Age of Mythology introduced some compelling new ideas into the real-time strategy genre. While I think it’s overdue for a complete remake, Age of Mythology: Retold is an excellent way to reacquaint players with a genuine classic and a perfect introduction for gamers new to the title.

Nostalgia. I think nostalgia is quite overrated at this stage in gaming, but sometimes a project gives me such a blast of positive nostalgia that it is unreal, and this is the case with our subject today.

SKALD: Against the Black Priory was published by RawFury and developed by High North Studios. It will be the same for everyone who has ever played Ultima 5, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I want to get to that point later. For now, I want to talk about the relevant information so you can decide whether this game is for you. We start with the graphics.

The game's graphics specifically emulate the old computer era, even down to the color palette. Why am I saying that in the old computer era? Because, very specifically, this is closer to something you'd find on a Commodore or Amiga. I know Amiga was a trademark of commodore but bear with me here. More so than something you'd find on an IBM PC back in the day. Even the trailer alerts us to this, showing some kid entering a cartridge with SKALD: Against the Black Priory into his Commodore 64, so there is a fundamental connection for this kind of nostalgia, a through line throughout the entire game. What can I say about the graphics? It is something that I dearly love and miss, probably for a very long time. I'm very prone to nostalgic feelings sometimes. Especially when it's something I enjoyed back in the day or have fun memories of, you have to take kind of what I say with a grain of SKALD, but I think the graphics or the art, let's say, the art style because the graphics, I don't think we are talking about fidelity here. We are talking about the beautiful art style here. I love it, no matter if you have these tremendous still images that portray a scene that is currently going on or something that alerts you to the cosmic horror that SKALD is so fond of describing. It is very moody, tense, and atmospheric and nails what it sets out to do so much. I cannot tell you how beautiful and sometimes how grim and dark this game gets with the portrayal of the darkness. It wants to exude.

I would claim that at some points, the game leans a bit too heavily into dark themes and comes off as edgy more than mature, but that's part and parcel of the package because sometimes games aren't mature. Sometimes, they are just juvenile, and I like having an edge in my video games. I will not have it any other way. This also shows in the graphics. For example, during combat, you are going to destroy the enemy. A few gruesome fates await your enemy portrait in very low-fidelity pixel graphics, and I love it. I love it so much, going from the graphics to the gameplay. This is where the most modern stuff happened in terms of combat. This game is a modern-day turn-based RPG that is really thoughtful and put together, and you have a lot of options during combat because you also have a variety of classes. Nine, to be exact, and a variety of backgrounds, so you already have a lot of combination possibilities during the character creation. You also accumulate a party during gameplay. Hence, you have six character slots overall, one for yourself and five for additional party members, so the party's composition will also do a lot for you regarding gameplay.

That isn't to say that combat is very central. You actually can avoid most of the combat as far as I've played the game, and you can also just go in and just ♥♥♥♥ the ♥♥♥♥ out; you can use stealth, you can use diplomacy, and the game gives you ample options to just role play actually and this is what I very much appreciate about it. You can do various things, for example, if you arrive in the central city. Three factions control it, and you can either outplay the three factions or walk up to the leaders and kill them in combat. So, player choice and options are always good, but how does the actual combat work well? You have the turn-based combat that every RPG has these days. Mostly, it's decided by dice roll. The dice rolls mainly come into effect when you attack a cast spell; obviously, you have a set number of movement points. For example, where you move around, you have one attack per round and special skills. You can cast spells. There is a variety of stuff you can do, and it gives you many options on how to approach combat. So even in a battle where you're not outgunned and outnumbered, if you play strategically, you can turn the tide in your favor. You have to do it cleverly.

As for the story, this is where I could ruffle some feathers. I'm still determining. I love the story itself. Don't get me wrong, it is very well written, super exciting, and one of the better cosmic horror stories I've experienced lately. There is a lot of craftsmanship here, but this sometimes feels legal. It is a distinct quasi-remake of Ultima 5, not that there is anything wrong with that because the game wears its inspiration on its sleeve, especially in the story; you feel this kind of inspiration because what SKALD does is it lifts the plot beads from Ultima 5 and transports it into its tale.

However, it does well when it lifts these to story beats. It always puts its spin on it, makes you feel nice and cozy, and you think, hey, I know this, but then it throws your ball, and something completely unexpected happens, so as much as it takes inspiration from Ultima 4. It also does its own thing, so this is good. I am just pointing out, hey, if you've played Ultima 5 in the past, you might get some déja vus, and then more often than not, the déja vu turns out to be, hey, that is not how that played out in any case.

Do I recommend SKALD: Against the Black Priory? Yes, I do. It is one of my favorite RPG releases in the last two years, if not even in the top three. I put it next to Balder Gate 3 and 40K Rogue Trader, and that is a tall order because I still love those games. I love SKALD just as much, so if you want a blast from the past and some good old nostalgia but with some modernization, it is a cosmic horror spin, and then the SKALD is for you. Skald: Against the Black, Priory captures the spirit of your favorite old-school RPGs while serving up deep sidequests and memorable lore, but its combat and progression systems eventually run into trouble, and its overarching narrative never entirely takes off. It's out now on Steam, and it is glorious.