Reseñas recientes de svenevil

The Adventure Library - all about point and click adventures

Is this game a masterpiece? 27 years after the release of the best-selling game of 1997, a complete remaster has now been released. Is it a cheap re-release or a contemporary renovation?

Riven (by brothers Robyn and Rand Miller) is the direct successor to Myst. Myst was released back in 1993 and took the world by storm at the time. It became the best-selling game ever and defended this position for several years until it was replaced by The Sims 10 years later. The reason for its resounding success at the time was probably its excellent graphics (as one of the first good PC games to use the CD-ROM as a medium - along with classics such as Rebel Assault or The 7th Guest). In addition, it was also a game that was extremely well received by female gamers. Myst has been re-released several times over the years in an improved version, and finally underwent an excellent complete remaster in 2021.

But what about Riven? With Riven, the developers at Cyan have continued the success story of Myst, but this time they had a slightly bigger budget. When it was released in 1997, it was already common practice (and technically no longer completely new territory) to publish new PC games on CD-ROM. Riven took up five CDs back then. Although it no longer set any new sales records, it still sold extremely well. In contrast to Myst, however, there were no new versions of Riven in the following years (apart from a DVD-ROM version, console and cell phone ports). So if you wanted to play Riven until now, you could either try to somehow get your old original to run on new PC hardware (difficult), install it via ScummVM, play it on your cell phone or play a console version (PlayStation, Saturn). The edition available on Steam was also just the old original without any improvements and with ScummVM as an emulator. So it really was time for a new version - and it has finally been released!

Riven throws us straight into the story. If you haven't played Myst before, you won't understand much of the story, at least at first. We continue to play a dimensional traveler who is transported to the world of Riven by Atrus in order to find and rescue his wife Catherine. Riven is ruled by his evil father Gehn and is slowly being destroyed. Arthur makes it clear that we can't leave Riven the same way we traveled there, but hopefully he'll bring us back once we find his wife and Gehn is neutralized. And what's more, he may have found a way to bring us back to the world we originally came from...

Once we arrive in Riven, one of our books is stolen, but the thief can't enjoy his booty for very long. After this introduction, the game begins - and it is structured very similarly to its predecessor. We are in a world that is sparsely populated by other creatures, but is full of strange buildings and other constructs. We have no idea what the various devices are for or how they work. The gameplay consists of exploring the world and solving various puzzles, which are usually related to the machines in the environment. Press switches and buttons, flip levers, move things around, always with the aim of opening up new paths and making progress. There are a total of five large islands to explore. Some puzzles also use musical clues. We have to use our intellect and intuition to discover the truth about Riven and its inhabitants. Riven has several possible endings - from a positive ending to the absolute failure of the player.

The new version of Riven, like the remaster of Myst before it, has been completely reprogrammed. In contrast to the original, we now move completely freely in a 3D environment developed with the Unreal Engine, and can no longer just travel from point to point. In addition, the story has been expanded at some points and new graphics have been added. Some puzzles have been adapted to our new movement options. However, if you already know the original, you will recognize most of the locations and puzzles without any problems. The graphics also look excellent in high resolutions, and the many small movie sequences in the game are now of a much higher quality than before.

This is what a lavish new edition should look like. With the new version of Riven, the old classic from 1997 has been perfectly reworked and adapted for the current generation of players. Riven is of course of particular interest to players who have already played Myst and now want more of the same - without any major changes to the game mechanics. Many puzzles, the solution to which is only revealed by attentively observing the surroundings, lead through a leisurely developing adventure - without time pressure and skill interludes. You'll have to decide for yourself whether you still find this type of gameplay contemporary.

Conclusion:
Finally a lovingly revised new version of this all-time classic.

Is this game a masterpiece? This is a modern remake of one of the most influential games of all time. The original Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord was released in 1981 and was one of the first role-playing games on the computer. It certainly was a masterpiece for its time. It was designed by Andrew C. Greenberg and Robert Woodhead, who played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons at the time. Just as Sierra released the first adventure game with graphics (Mystery House) around the same time, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord was the first role-playing game with color graphics, at least in the original Apple II version. It had a massive influence on subsequent series such as Bard's Tale and Ultima, which went on to define the genre. Wizardry itself also became a series with eight installments and several spin-offs released over the years on countless systems (including Japanese versions on consoles and Japanese computers).

You start the game in a small village, from where you can enter several buildings. The local heroes seem to meet in the tavern in pretty much every role-playing game to relax. This is where you put together a party of six to start the adventure. New guests keep coming to the tavern, which you can recruit as the game progresses. Inexperienced heroes are free, but if they have already leveled up a few times, you will have to pay them to join your party. Wounded heroes can be healed in the temple (for a small donation...). In the local store, you can buy and sell weapons and equipment, remove curses from items and identify unknown items. In the training hall you can rename your party members, delete them permanently or even just change their portrait picture. They can also change their class here. The character details are surprisingly varied for such an old game - from six character values (strength, intelligence, vitality, luck, agility, faith), to hit points, mana and experience points, a class (fighter, thief, priest, bishop, etc.), each character also has an inventory or can possibly cast a few spells. You can also see the disposition (good/evil/neutral) here. You can clearly see the Dungeons & Dragons influence. Apart from the buildings listed, there is not too much to do on the surface. The actual game then begins in the underground labyrinth. The wizard Werdna has fled into this maze after stealing the amulet from the overlord Trebnor. Trebnor has now called upon the heroes of the land to return the amulet to him. That's why you've come to this remote village - after all, Trebnor has promised a big reward to anyone who brings the amulet back to him. So the background story is not particularly complex.

As with the original, movement in the dungeon is step-by-step. Back then, you still had to draw the map on the chart paper as you moved forward field by field. However, the labyrinth is full of magic, sometimes you are teleported around, or you are turned in a different direction without you having to do anything. Anyone who played The Bard's Tale or the AD&D Gold Box games back in the day will know what I'm talking about. Fortunately, a map is automatically drawn today. Above all, it reminded me of the brilliant Dungeon Master (FTL, 1987), the first game of its kind with decent graphics (and real-time combat). However, there was (and is) no real-time combat in Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord; the battles are turn-based. As soon as you encounter enemies, the game switches to a separate screen that shows the enemies in close-up. You select the actions of your heroes, which are then executed one after the other, as are the actions of your opponents. Attack, cast spells, defend yourself, identify enemies... whereby it is relevant where your heroes are standing. If you are at the front, you can strike with your sword; if you are at the back, you can only fight with ranged weapons or spells. Experience points are awarded after the battle and you can also collect loot. However, this is often secured with traps, so hopefully you have someone with you who is good at disarming traps. The battles are brutally difficult and you can't just save at every turn and cheat with several save games. However, when you finish the game, you can now save in the dungeon, so you don't have to go back to the village to save your game as you did in the original.

In Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, you can see how the JRPG genre has evolved. Although it was actually a game developed in North America, it became extremely popular in Japan in particular. While other series later took the crown of the role-playing genre in the West, Wizardry games were extremely successful in Japan. Series such as Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest would not have existed in this form without Wizardry. And neither would the walking piles of slime that appear as enemies in all these games.

Conclusion:
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is a 3D remake of the very first game in the legendary Wizardry role-playing series. The core game mechanics of the classic have all been retained and the design is largely unchanged, only the graphics now shine in fresh 3D or at least with pretty pictures, even at a resolution of 3440×1440 if required. To make the game a little easier to play than in 1981, countless minor QoL improvements have been added, but masochists can turn off many of these improvements in the settings to get the hardcore experience of the original. However, with or without the enhancements, the game is only for fans of classic role-playing games. You have to like the 80s design to have fun with the game. If you like that, or if you just want to see how the genre of JRPGs started over 40 years ago, then Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is the game for you.

Is this game a masterpiece? Yes. Over 20 years after its initial release, this remaster is still an essential real-time strategy game.

If you like (reasonably) realistic historical scenarios, you're wrong with Age of Mythology: Retold. It's not about reenacting actual historical events, but rather telling a colorful story from the ancient world of legends. The game draws on various sources, such as the Greek mythology with Zeus and Atlantis, the ancient Egyptian gods such as Osiris and Seth, and finally the Norse mythology. The heroes in the campaign reach Niflheim, where gods like Loki are up to mischief. In the campaign, we play Admiral Arkantos from Atlantis, who fights in the Trojan War, pursues a Cyclops into the underworld, tries to prevent the resurrection of an Egyptian god, befriends Odysseus and uses Thor's hammer. All this and much more is presented in around 50 missions, in which you are constantly faced with new challenges. Even the small campaign “The Golden Rift”, originally a free download, is included. Of course, the entire campaign from “The Titans” expansion is also available.

The gameplay is basically the same as in other real-time strategy games. You collect resources (food, gold, wood, but instead of stones you collect divine favor), construct buildings and recruit soldiers. You then send them out to destroy your enemies. You won't win a flower pot here peacefully. There are again four ages into which your tribe can (or must, in order to win) progress: The Archaic Age, then the Classical, Heroic and Mythic. Each advancement to a higher age unlocks new units and technologies, and you must also choose a supporting minor deity, which grants you further bonuses. There are four playable civilizations: the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Norsemen and the Atlanteans (from The Titans expansion). Each culture has several “main gods” (e.g. Zeus, Ra, Odin, Loki, Kronos or Gaia), one of which you must choose before the game begins. All gods grant you unique technologies, mythical units and a powerful “god power” - unlike in the original game, this can also be used several times during a game. Divine favor is acquired by different cultures in different ways: Greek players gain it by praying in temples, Egyptian players earn it by building monuments; and Norse players gain it by killing animals or owning heroes, while Atlanteans simply build as many village centers as possible. In addition to the usual troops, you can also command mythological creatures such as mummies, centaurs, giant scorpions, cyclops, androids, giant jellyfish or crocodiles.

The new version of Age of Mythology is actually “Retold”, as the entire voiceover of the hero Arkantos from the campaign has been completely redone. But this is of course just one of countless improvements that the game has received. The new version has also been classified as a major project at Microsoft and was created in collaboration with several internal game studios. The graphics have been completely overhauled and not only look much better on the battlefield, the many displays in the menus have also been completely redrawn. What's more, the game has now also been developed for the Xbox. Many of the Quality of Life improvements that made sense for the console version have also been incorporated into the new PC version. One new feature is the villager automation, where you can assign your villagers to collect various resources at the touch of a button. Originally developed for the console, but also very useful on the PC. The controls now also work smoothly on PC with the controller. The necessary micromanagement has been reduced, units are more intelligent and no longer need to be commanded down to the last detail. Changes have also been made to the balancing. The expansion Tale of the Dragon, which is set in Chinese mythology and was developed by SkyBox Labs in 2016 for the original game, is not included in Retold, but there are rumors that it will be added in a DLC in a heavily revised version...

Conclusion:
This remaster brings the last of the great Age of Empires games into the modern age and up to the latest technical and graphical standards. The spin-off of the series offers a slightly different gameplay than the main parts, bringing a lot of variety to the “historically correct” battles from the other games. A few mythical creatures really spice up every army, and there are quite a few of them in the course of the game. Add to this the direct intervention of a deity in the events of the world and nothing can stop us! All this in lovingly reworked new graphics, with countless small improvements to the user interface and a new soundtrack.

Is this game a masterpiece? No, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It's a decent indie game, far better than the typical trash releasing on Steam nowadays. The introduction to the story, Skelethrone: The Prey, has been available as a free download on Steam for several months now. This free prequel to the main game sets the scene for the events that will unfold over the course of the main campaign.

The story is set in the dark fantasy realm of Makh-Abyss. We take on the role of a skeleton who is suddenly resurrected. We were once Lord Derek Ericona, but that was a long time ago. At the start of the game, we rise from a pile of human remains and should quickly get ourselves some equipment. A weapon wouldn't be a bad idea; shield, armor, helmet and shoes also improve our character stats and make it easier for us to stay alive a little longer. Fortunately, the whole area is surrounded by decaying corpses and we quickly find a few rotten and rusty pieces of armor and weapons. And of course we need this equipment, because the area is also haunted by some nightmarish monsters that attack us immediately on sight. And fighting these creatures is also the core gameplay mechanic of the game. Striking with the sword, a dodge roll forwards or backwards, parrying attacks at the perfect moment with our shield and then carrying out particularly effective counter-attacks, while always keeping an eye on our stamina. The battles are reminiscent of a Dark Souls clone, but of course in pure 2D.

It is a classic 2D side-scrolling action game that is mainly based on the classic Metroidvanias and has added a few role-playing elements. You have to explore the world, kill monsters, fight bosses, climb and jump, find hidden areas and improve your character. With special abilities that you only learn during the game, you can reach previously inaccessible places. Go exploring in the vast game areas; the game will reward you for it. You can find a variety of equipment that will significantly improve your hero. An overview map makes it easier to find your way around, while quick travel portals (campfires) allow you to navigate through the game world more quickly. An extensive talent tree allows you to improve your hero over the course of the game (skills can be reallocated once you have received the Oblivion Stone), and special skills can be learned at certain points in the game. There are a total of five character values that change over the course of the game. If you lose a life, you can return to the place of death and get back the essence (a type of currency that you obtain by defeating enemies) lying around there, otherwise the essence you have collected since the last save is gone. However, the items you have found remain in your inventory, which means that dying is not punished so severely.

Conclusion:
The game is fun, but also quite a challenge. Once you get used to the controls, however, you get a classic Metroidvania with 16-bit graphics and a fantasy setting with strong Dark Souls vibes. The gameplay feels good, the battles are satisfying and the bosses are challenging - just as it should be. Objectively speaking, the difficulty level is quite manageable if you don't have two left hands. The bottom line is that this is an exciting 2D Metroidvania focused on combat - and there can never be too many of those.

Is this game a masterpiece? No, but it has its charm. We play Carter, an employee of a company called the PRISM Organization, which operates a research laboratory and several other facilities in a remote part of Alaska. Our job is actually just to keep the lab supplied. But when we turn up at the lab one day and talk to one of our colleagues, things start to look a bit strange. Our colleague says that we were actually made redundant after our last trip and that he wasn't expecting us at all. But never mind, the HR department often makes mistakes and our bed is still there anyway. And then suddenly the alarm goes off in the middle of the night - we hear on the radio that we should leave the research facility immediately, that the evacuation has been initiated. So we run - because something is obviously wrong here. There's a guy running around with tentacles coming out of his head, and we'd better not get too close to him. And so we flee into the forest, where we meet our colleague with an injured foot, with whom we flee to an abandoned outpost. And here we set up our base and the real game begins.

The game is played day by day and consists of two different parts. On the one hand, we manage the base in a strategy part, and on the other, we explore certain locations in a 2D part with a bit of action. Fighting, sneaking, exploring the hotspots in the area, solving little puzzles. Don't expect too much from the battles, they are not necessarily the highlight of the game and should be avoided altogether as often as possible.

The more extensive part in terms of playing time is the 2D part. We choose our next mission from the camp, where we then move through the area in 2D. We can run (as long as our stamina lasts), we can sneak, we can use objects such as a knife, an axe, a lantern or stones. Unfortunately, the items break quickly, the lamp runs out of fuel and the consumable items are generally only available in small quantities. So we have to collect everything we can find in boxes, chests or cupboards along the way. In the base, we have a workbench where we can craft new, more important items (e.g. bandages) from the resources we find. This is also where we assign tasks to the other rescued people - if we were able to save someone during our explorations. Our base slowly grows and the other inhabitants take care of the water supply, for example, and regularly produce resources. We store resources that we don't need in a safe place so that we can retrieve them when we need them and equip ourselves with them before the next mission. The more people we have in the camp, the more resources we need. It's a good thing that sometimes someone dies... We can talk to the other survivors and sleep in the tent to recover a little. However, we can't easily get rid of serious traumas that we suffer in the course of the game. Will we go mad or will we eventually escape this nightmare?

The real tension arises above all during our exploration tours. The locations are all infested with mutated monsters - former colleagues or other horrible monsters (from the lab?). We can fight them if we have a weapon, although the enemies have very different characteristics. Certain worms can only hear us, but cannot see us. So if we sneak or - in close proximity - stand still, we are safe and can crush them with a large stone. Other worms don't like light - here, for example, our lantern serves as a deadly weapon... just like in Alan Wake. Mutated humans are more dangerous; a direct hit with a stone will at best stun them for a short time, and we have to look for more effective weapons or take the environment into account. Sometimes we can also simply hide in certain places and sneak past the creatures. New enemy types with new strengths and weaknesses are constantly being added, and we also find more and more new items that we can use creatively or need for crafting. We also find clues such as diaries or other documents to help us understand the background story. What actually happened in the remote wilderness?

The individual reconnaissance missions usually last a day and we always have a specific main task. For example, we search for survivors in a mine. Lifts connect the five levels of the mine, and there is actually a (non-mutated) chick from the HR department at the bottom, but she has lost her documents. She only wants to escape with us if we bring her these documents... so we look for the stuff for her, and as soon as we bring it to her, the mission ends and we're back at our base - with a new roommate who is terribly unpleasant as a person, but has a decent organizational talent and can therefore be quite useful.

Conclusion:
Games like this are the reason why I like (good) indie games so much. Refreshing game concepts that bring a little variety to the AAA 3D graphics monsters, don't promise endless open world entertainment but still offer exciting gameplay and tricky challenges. In Edge of Sanity you are constantly under stress - both in the strategy/survival part and in the 2D exploration of the various locations. Do you have enough resources in your base? Is there another mutated monster waiting behind the next door? Will I make it through the level alive? Is this real or am I just killing my friends in a frenzy? Simply cool! If you don't let the constant shortage of resources scare you, you can spend a few exciting hours fighting creatures inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos (by H. P. Lovecraft) and hopefully do not lose your sanity in the process.

Is this game a masterpiece? No, but it is beautiful and plays well - within its limitations. It was programmed by a Bulgarian team who aimed to develop an accessible platformer with above-average graphics and great playability, without being drawn into additional features, elaborate details and an eternally long story. In addition to the jumps, the focus is primarily on the battles with the monsters, whereby Marko only has his huge sword at his disposal. A spear is added later for ranged combat, but that's (almost) it. There are of course a few other items, plus selectable seals (to improve certain stats), but anyone expecting hundreds of items like in Diablo will be disappointed. The team is particularly proud of the hand-drawn animations, which wouldn't look out of place in a Studio Ghibli anime.

We play Marko, a villager in a small rural town in a country called Zagora (inspired by the Carpathian Mountains). Life would be wonderful and we'd still be chopping down a few trees and twirling our oversized moustache in peace if a purple three-headed monster didn't suddenly appear at the entrance to the village, killing our friends and throwing us off the collapsing village bridge. We were supposed to be floating dead as a doornail in the river, but a stag with huge golden antlers brings us back to life and in a hidden cave we find a sword lying around just waiting for us. It's a magic sword, of course, and hacking enemies to pieces with it generates courage. And if we have enough courage, we can regenerate some health points, which is one of the core game mechanics.

Striking with your sword, jumping over enemies, dodging backwards at the touch of a button, dashing forwards, hurling a spear (actually our improved sword...), using the physically correct double jump and skillfully dodging enemies (inspired by the Slavic legendary world - Kikimora, Vodnik, Usoi, Samovila, Dhampir, Prokoba,...) - that's how you'll spend most of the game. You can't parry, by the way - if you want to survive, you have to dodge, especially when fighting the numerous boss enemies (an enchanted prince, a bewitched goat,...), because they are merciless. You have five health points, and every hit or contact with an enemy (or with lava) costs you one point. If you have built up enough courage by eliminating enemies, you can regenerate several health points. Or you can choose not to use this ability and hit harder instead. If you die, you will be revived at the last save point, which can be found in several places in the game. In the village, you will meet some inhabitants who will help you (for a few coins) - like the blacksmith who will improve your sword.

There are always hidden areas where there are usually a few nice extras, money and sometimes new characters lying around. However, there is no elaborate character development, so if you are looking for an extensive skill tree, you will search in vain. You play Marko, learn a few new skills (dash, double jump, javelin throw,...), improve Marko with the seals you find (you decide which ones to activate) and with a few upgrades (e.g. more health points), but the most important improvement comes from getting better at the game. As soon as you encounter a new enemy for the first time, an entry is created in the monster overview, which you can view at your leisure in the menu. At the touch of a button, a map of the current environment is displayed.

I was lied to at Gamescom. Marko: Beyond Brave is not an easy entry-level metroidvania for in-between games. The game is tough as nails, and the bosses gave me a few more gray hairs (not that you'd notice). There isn't much backtracking necessary either, as a rule you fight your way forward level by level - but you can decide where you want to continue next. The graphics are really like something out of a Disney cartoon, beautifully animated and wonderfully colorful - just as I remember them as a child.

Conclusion:
If you're looking for a classic hack and slash action game for your PC, this is a game for you. High playability (assuming a certain level of skill on the part of the player), great graphics, a little bit of character development and a humorous embedding in a story full of references to various Slavic folk tales will keep you entertained for some hours.

Is this game a masterpiece? No, but it is good and there can never be enough good metroidvanias. It aims to offer exactly what has made the genre so popular. For example, we can jump, dash, double-jump, leap back and forth between two walls, strike with our sword, shoot with our pistol, roll and quickly dodge backwards. However, some of these abilities - and a few more - have to be unlocked first. Bosses in particular are always a good source of useful new rewards. Backtracking is necessary, but not on a massive scale and especially if you get lost again despite the automap, or if you are looking for hidden rooms.

We take on the role of Aletheia, a young woman working as a mercenary who sets off into the depths of the steampunk city of Canaan in search of Simon, a missing young man. However, after she soon finds him, she does not bring him back to the safe surface, but is persuaded by him to descend with him further into the depths of the underground labyrinths beneath the city in order to find a supposedly infinitely powerful relic. Of course, the way down is not so easy. There are robots running around everywhere, and most of them obviously no longer work as intended and attack us immediately on sight. The environment isn't exactly inviting either - locked doors, moving platforms, blocked entrances. So we fight our way forward in the tried and tested metroidvania manner - killing enemies, opening doors, lowering ladders to set up shortcuts... whereby we don't progress in a linear fashion, but have to visit previously explored areas again and again to complete quests, buy equipment or even just save the game state at one of the save points. We are also fully healed each time we save. Enemies reappear as soon as we have left their area, allowing us to kill them again and collect some scrap (=money) in return. We keep coming across friendly humans or robots who have also ended up in the underground tunnels for various reasons. Many of them help us or send us on small quests, with the game automatically documenting our quests on a separate page.

One-time consumable items such as healing potions, beer or coffee improve our strength in the short term or heal poisoning, for example. Our energy pistol can only fire a single shot at first, but if we injure enemies in close combat, the energy is regenerated. Of course, we soon find ways to store a little more energy for our pistol. In the character screen, we can see our values such as hit points, energy and resistance, as well as our level, the chance of landing critical hits and a little more. However, this cannot keep up with a full-blown role-playing game. The skill tree, where we can invest points gained after leveling up in useful skills, is much more complex. There are dozens of upgrades to choose from here - provided you have the points to purchase them, and nodes in the skill tree must be unlocked during the course of the game in order to access new areas. So you can't collect experience forever in the first level and eventually unlock all the skills... Of course, we can also find items to improve Aletheia, although initially only a single slot is unlocked for additional equipment. As a bonus, you can find hidden dogs in the levels.

The game automatically draws a map. However, the map is weak. You can zoom and move it, you can even add different icons yourself, but the map is still poor. It only shows huge rooms and their exits, which makes it difficult to find your way around. Imagine that the map of an anthill is just a large rectangle... the map doesn't tell you exactly what's inside the rectangle and which paths you can take. The automap is better than nothing, but not extremely helpful. X-Box Controller and DS 4 PlayStation Controller work perfectly. With an ultrawide monitor (21:9) it is playable without any problems, but with black bars on both sides. Cloud saves are created automatically.

Conclusion:
Classic 2D Metroidvania, massively inspired by the 16- and 32-bit classics of the genre. Melee fighting, jumping, exploring large non-linear levels, defeating bosses and continuously upgrading your character with new abilities and items is the gameplay essence of the game. There are also slightly longer conversations than usual, but this does not make the game a visual novel.

Is this game a masterpiece? No, but it is quite funny nevertheless. The game builds on the older games from Perfectly Paranormal - Manual Samuel and Helheim Hassle. All use a similar art style, all have the same quirky humor, all take place in the same world... and all take place on a Tuesday. The Holy Gosh Darn plays differently from the old games. You don't have to navigate a paralyzed body, you don't have to throw body parts around, but now it's all about manipulating time. You relive the same afternoon over and over again, a bit like in the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day”, the only difference being that you can turn the time forward or backward at will (between 12:00 and 18:00).

You play Cassy, an angel in heaven who doesn't have much to do. She spends most of her time sitting on a park bench with her friend and guessing which dog will go to heaven next. Humans hardly ever arrive here, but “All Dogs go to Heaven”. A little allusion to the cartoon “Charlie - All Dogs Go to Heaven” from 1989? Even St. Peter at the entrance is a little angry because of all the dogs. In any case, the dogs are suddenly gone and a large horde of evil spirits storms the heaven. This quickly leads to an explosion that destroys everything. I wonder if someone has illegally sat on the throne of God, because that is exactly what leads to such a catastrophic explosion. We can try this out for ourselves later. In any case, our task is to prevent the destruction of heaven (and hell).

Our friend from previous games, Death, has messed up again and is to blame for the catastrophe. So he gives us a small part of his superpowers, namely the ability to turn back (and speed up) time a little. So we can go back in time (at least a few hours) and use the knowledge we have accumulated in the future to solve some puzzles, or solve them more quickly. After all, we only have exactly six hours to prevent the sky from falling. And time is running out, every second counts. And so we cut some conversations brutally short, take shortcuts and do everything we can to reach our goal as quickly as possible. Our goal is an ancient artifact that is supposed to protect the heavens from the invasion of the spirits - the Holy Gosh Darn. We have to retrieve this artifact from the archive and bring it to St. Peter so that he can place it in front of the entrance to heaven. To do this, we talk to various biblical inhabitants in Heaven, Hell, Helheim and on Earth, although their current jobs are often slightly different to those described in the Bible. The biblical eagle, for example, the protector of God's throne, now works as a janitor.

The story uses the wacky characters and locations from Manual Samuel and Helheim Hassle. During the course of the game, we meet some familiar characters (and some new ones) and visit familiar places. The Holy Gash Darn is consistently funny, at least if you don't have a problem with the slightly irreverent use of religious motifs. If you enjoyed the slightly macabre humor of the Norwegian developers in the previous games, then you will also enjoy The Holy Gosh Darn.

Conclusion:
Narrative adventure game with puzzle platformer and action elements. Move through Heaven, Hell and Helheim as quickly as possible to once again save the world from destruction. And if it doesn't work the first time (it won't), just turn back time and optimize your next attempt.

Is this game a masterpiece? No, but it is a decent real-time tactics game more than worth playing if you enjoy the genre. We guide 2-3 Polish partisans in the fight against the German occupiers. It takes place in Warsaw in 1944. Warsaw is still occupied by the hated Nazis, but the Germans are actually already in retreat against the advancing Red Army. Polish freedom fighters want to liberate their capital themselves before the Russians arrive. There was an open uprising throughout Warsaw, but after 63 days the Wehrmacht brutally suppressed it in fierce battles. Tanks, cannons and airplanes against poorly armed partisans was a pretty hopeless situation. Although the Russian troops were almost at the gates of the city, they did not intervene. Only after the Nazis had wiped out the Polish resistance did the Russians attack again and “liberate” the destroyed Warsaw.

Initially, we control an 18-year-old boy and his slightly older brother. Our first objective is to open the gate to a German airbase so that our group of resistance fighters can infiltrate the base. But anyone who thinks this is going to be easy is mistaken. The base is teeming with Wehrmacht soldiers. Many are standing on watchtowers or by doors and are constantly watching their surroundings. As soon as they see us, they open fire and raise the alarm. The shots are quite accurate and the alarm doesn't mean that three recruits search the area for two minutes before going back to their posts. If we are discovered, the alarm bells ring and the base turns into a wasps' nest. So we should avoid that and proceed with caution. We take out sentries from behind with a knife and crawl past guards in the dirt without being detected. We throw stones as a distraction and hide in blind spots. If all this reminds you of the classic Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines from 1998, you are of course right. 63 Days plays very similarly to the classic. In six long chapters, we first play in the time before the uprising, and then in the increasingly hopeless situation during the uprising, in which Warsaw slowly turns into a field of rubble and we run out of ammunition, bandages and food. Many of our comrades will probably not survive this battle. The last chapter takes place after the liberation by the Soviet army.

63 Days is an isometric real-time tactics game that follows in the footsteps of its predecessor War Mongrels and builds on its game mechanics. The core game mechanics are again the typical stealth-tactics gameplay as in Desperados III, for example. You have mission objectives to complete, but it is not necessary to eliminate all enemies. It's better to avoid enemies, you can't take on the whole army on your own. Take a look at your enemies' field of vision to plan your path. You can switch the game to slow motion at any time to view the surroundings and issue orders to your units. As soon as you exit slow motion, the orders will be carried out in real time (and simultaneously if you have given orders to several units). Disguise yourself so that you can move freely in the direct line of sight of enemy soldiers - but don't act conspicuously, otherwise even the best disguise won't help you. As soon as one of your units dies, the game is over. However, a savegame is created automatically at regular intervals, so you can only continue playing a short time before you die. You can also reduce the difficulty level, but this does not make 63 Days really easy.

Conclusion:
Fans of historical stealth real-time tactics games will get their money's worth. The realistic scenario is presented with zoomable and rotatable graphics, and the gameplay uses the formula that has been tried, tested and refined since Commandos. Use the special abilities of your men to deceive and eliminate enemies. Use historically authentic weapons (and other tools) to accomplish your mission objectives. To be successful, detailed micromanagement of each partisan (you play up to three people) is necessary. Only by proceeding slowly will you have a chance of success. The level of difficulty is generally quite high, especially if you have no experience in this particular niche genre. However, if you like games like Commandos, Desperados III, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew or Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, you will most likely also enjoy 63 Days.

Racing games have come a long way since the first representatives of the genre saw the light of day in the arcades of the 1970s. Today, many of the major racing game series look almost as realistic as a television broadcast, and simulate not only detailed vehicle models but also the weather, driving physics and intelligent computer opponents almost perfectly. Victory Heat Rally, however, does not fall into this category. Victory Heat Rally is an arcade fun racer that makes driving and drifting fun without wasting much thought on realism. It is reminiscent of the racing games from the arcades of the 80s, with (fairly) short laps, cartoon-like graphics and lots of action.

At the start of the game, you can choose between several game modes. In “Championship”, the main mode, you play alone and have to become the Victory Heat Rally winner in a series of races. In “Arcade GP” you only drive individual races, while in “Time Attack” you only drive completely alone on the race tracks against the stopwatch. “Versus” is the multiplayer mode in which you compete with up to four friends (and bots) for victory. So how does “Championship” work? The aim is to complete a series of four races. First you choose your driver (each of whom has their own car), with only three to choose from initially. The remaining nine must first be unlocked. The car is then configured a little. Tires, shock absorbers, color (new colors must also be unlocked first) and off you go. The aim now is to finish in the top three in the race against 11 computer opponents. Otherwise it's game over, but you can try again thanks to “Continue”. The controls are easy to use: A to accelerate, X to brake and RT to collect drift in the bends. And that's exactly what you need to do to win a race. When drifting, your drift indicator increases, and when you finish drifting, you get a decent speed boost. There are no extras on the road, and if you hit your opponents during the race, not much happens (usually) except that you lose speed. You also lose speed if you drive on the side of the road, crash into the barriers or even leave the track. However, you cannot damage your racing car. When you exit the race track into a lava pool, you explode and get reset on the track. The screen displays are straightforward - a radar with the track from above, a speedometer, your boost indicator, your current position in the race, which lap you are currently on and the driving time.

Multiplayer races are possible via split screen. Whether there are two, three or four of you sitting on the couch - with enough gamepads you can compete against each other. This is also possible online with the help of Steam Remote Play Together. All you need to do is have a copy of the game and your friends can play along via your screen mirrored on theirs. However, they will need their own gamepad. However, Victory Heat Rally does not offer a “real” online mode, where everyone starts the game directly on their computer.

Conclusion:
Victory Heat Rally is an arcade fun racer. It has little in common with realism, it's all about fun. Keep your car on the racetrack, collect energy by drifting in the bends, which is then discharged in a speed boost. Race tracks and drivers have to be unlocked, and you can compete against your friends (locally) in multiplayer mode. Not a mega hit, but nice little fun for retro fans in single-player mode and great for fun multiplayer races with your friends!