A fast-paced, highly diverse magical roguelite! Game Astral Ascent is a roguelite developed by Hibernian Workshop, set in a modern fantasy world. You begin the game as Ayla on a quest to find and defeat an entity known as "The Master," who previously sent armies to wipe out the inhabitants. Upon arriving, The Master appointed some of the best among them to guard specific sanctuaries; these guardians are known as the Zodiacs—individuals or creatures representing the 12 signs of the zodiac. Ayla, along with three other playable characters (Kiran, Calie, and Octave), must overcome a wide variety of challenges to ultimately defeat The Master. There are also two additional characters unlockable via DLC: Yamada and Arven. The story unfolds gradually, including every time you embark on a roguelite run (referred to in-game as the "Escape Plan"). As you progress, you unlock various NPCs on the main map—or hub area—who can help boost your stats, provide new spells, and more. At the start of an Escape Plan run, you can immediately choose a new magic ability (from your four starting options) to swap in, if you wish. Each "stage" features a difficulty level that gradually increases. At the end of each stage, you choose between two paths: one typically leads to the next difficulty level (e.g., moving from level 2 to 3), while the other jumps up by an additional level. Furthermore, each new stage lets you see the type and quantity of items you will encounter—such as Quartz fragments (to trade for abilities later on) or Auras (general modifiers not directly tied to specific spells). Building on the topic of auras, there are also Gambit modifiers that can be attached to spells, granting special effects and properties such as ice, poison, fire, and so on. In addition to these, one can find "Fool's Feathers" that enhance spells, as well as stones that boost general stats like strength, health, armor, and critical hit chance. Insane strikes and combos by acquiring new spells and modifiers. At the end of a set of "stages," the player enters the Andromeda bar, where they can replenish their health-restoring crystals (in exchange for a few stars...), have a drink, and use collected Quartz to purchase new spells, abilities, or "gambit slots" to augment those spells. On the next screen, the player faces a boss—one of the guardian Zodiacs. Typically, the first group of Zodiacs encountered belongs to the Earth element (Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo). After defeating the boss, the player earns some items and proceeds to the next "world," which is randomly selected (Fire, Water, or Air). Battle against one of the bosses, Capricorn! At certain points, the next stage might feature encounters with "Void Bosses"—mini-bosses based on minor constellations outside the Zodiac, such as Pegasus. But don't be fooled: while the difficulty is slightly lower than that of the main bosses, defeating them can still be a real challenge. Stay sharp! As players progress, they gradually unlock characters and unravel more of the story, with each character featuring unique dialogue with NPCs and bosses. Another interesting feature is the ability to play co-op with a friend, either online or via Remote Play Together (on Steam). The game also continues to evolve through new DLCs and collaborations with other titles, such as Dead Cells, Ravenswatch, Children of Morta, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. My Impressions Astral Ascent is a superbly crafted roguelite featuring a wealth of nuances and a massive amount of information—ranging from lore and customization options to spells, combos, and in-game achievements. Despite belonging to this genre, the game offers surprising depth, thanks to a rich narrative and diverse, character-focused dialogue that unfolds gradually throughout the gameplay rather than being dumped on the player all at once. This makes the experience all the more engaging, compelling you to keep playing to unravel each character's story. The story unfolds through dialogue that is by turns tense and amusing. Regarding difficulty, things are always a bit tougher in the early game—including the first boss fight. However, as the game progresses and you not only figure out how spells and combos work but also boost your base stats, the experience becomes a bit more manageable (though "a bit" doesn't mean "significantly," as it’s far from becoming a cakewalk). Early on, I got the impression—based largely on my experience in the first world—that the boss would change every time I encountered it; it seemed like defeating a boss meant a different one would appear on the next attempt (only repeating the lineup once all of them had been beaten). However, when I revisited the Fire World, I ended up facing the Sagittarius Zodiac twice in a row. I found this disappointing, as it holds back the other bosses right out of the gate, forcing you to play through and return to that world multiple times. It might seem odd, but some of the Zodiacs—or rather, elements of them—are somewhat reminiscent of Saint Seiy* (and why not draw inspiration from one of the world's most famous anime, right?). Conclusions For roguelite enthusiasts, Astral Ascent is a must-play title; it embodies the genre's core concept—advancing without suffering a definitive defeat—while adding a host of charms and features that enrich the player experience and prevent it from becoming overly repetitive (not to mention that the layout of each stage, as well as enemy placement, changes completely). The setting and soundtrack are also excellent, making the game increasingly addictive and compelling players to explore its world and every intricate detail. Various possibilities for improvement Achievements In addition to the aforementioned in-game achievements (which can yield points to exchange for spells, for example), regarding the platform—specifically Steam—the game currently features 89 achievements (though I believe this number could increase if new DLCs are added). Score: 9.0/10.0

Hellraiser Finds Its Most Disturbing Ritual in Gaming Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival is a video game adaptation of one of horror's most disturbing franchises, known for exploring the boundaries between pain, pleasure, and suffering. Featuring an original story, the game pits players against the Cenobites, supernatural creatures that turn agony into an extreme experience, while mysteries surrounding the Genesis Configuration lead the adventure through grotesque environments and increasingly disturbing situations. Playing as Aidan Lynch, we must confront this universe of horrors in an attempt to save our girlfriend, Sunny. From the very beginning, Hellraiser: Revival makes it clear that it has no intention of toning down the franchise's identity. Explicit violence, body horror, and discomfort are all part of the experience, accompanied by a narrative that seeks to expand the mythology of the Cenobites. This approach may put off more sensitive players, but it can also spark the curiosity of those who want to explore this universe beyond the films. GAMEPLAY Exploration combines material gathering, searching for important objects, puzzles, and chase sequences that make us feel like we're genuinely in trouble. The inventory includes key items, crafting materials, a map, and a journal containing information about the adventure. Another curious detail is the ability to monitor the protagonist's heartbeat on-screen, a feature that fits the game's goal of keeping players on edge. Progression also features manual saves, performed at rifts found throughout the environment, alongside automatic saves. Some interactions feel a little awkward, particularly when controller movement requires us to turn the camera completely to one side, but these are quirks we eventually get used to. In certain situations, we need to observe our surroundings and figure out solutions using visual clues. One of the early sequences requires us to manipulate parts of modified bodies, fitting elements together to solve a puzzle. Elsewhere, we encounter a skull covered in nails and must press the correct ones to release a key that allows us to open a grotesque-looking door. There are also numerical codes and puzzles hidden throughout the rooms, some of which may take a few minutes of observation before we finally understand what to do. These moments reward exploration and encourage players to pay attention to their surroundings. The Genesis Configuration becomes increasingly important as we progress, especially when we begin using the cube's energy to our advantage. The ability to collect glowing objects and throw them, combined with supernatural abilities, expands our options during combat. Hunting for hearts to restore Shailod also marks an interesting shift in how we approach the adventure. Gradually, we stop feeling like mere victims of our circumstances and begin adopting a much more aggressive stance toward the threats we face. Chase sequences help maintain this dynamic, creating moments when we must learn the route and avoid repeating our mistakes. Some sections can feel a little out of rhythm, particularly when we are forced to run through certain areas, but the sense of danger works well. I also feel that the game moves away from its puzzle-focused approach after the opening sequences, placing greater emphasis on survival and killing. The cult-related enemies are one area where I would have liked to see more variety. Despite differences in clothing and the presence of certain characters who become important throughout the story, many enemies look remarkably similar, with pale faces and shaved heads. They taunt the protagonist and display constant hostility, but their visual repetition becomes increasingly noticeable throughout the campaign. Fortunately, the introduction of Charlotte and other creatures expands the variety of threats and helps enrich the mythology being presented. The narrative also deserves recognition for its willingness to take players into increasingly extreme situations. VISUALS AND SOUND Developed using Unreal Engine 5, Hellraiser: Revival features excellent graphical quality, particularly in its environments and creature designs. The world is carefully filled with references to the franchise, and some details seem deliberately placed to reward players who enjoy examining every corner. The open areas, especially the sections set in the cemetery, are among the game's visual highlights. There is also a sense of nostalgia for horror games from the Xbox 360 era, when certain experiences relied on striking imagery and disturbing situations that stayed with players long after they finished playing. Here, that impact is reinforced by the grotesque art direction and the way environmental elements are arranged. The sequence set in the swingers' club, for example, is so disturbing within the context of the story that it makes us uneasy about what we might find there. The Cenobites' presentation is particularly striking. The game understands the importance of body horror to Hellraiser's identity and does not attempt to soften what makes this universe so unsettling. The gore is excessive, but it makes sense within the game's approach and reflects the way the franchise explores suffering. The atmosphere helps sustain this feeling throughout exploration, while the mystery surrounding these creatures makes us curious to learn more about their origins and motivations. Even with explicit violence dominating much of the experience, the visual design also stands out for creating locations that inspire curiosity rather than relying exclusively on shocking imagery. ACHIEVEMENTS Hellraiser: Revival features an interesting achievement list that encourages exploration, experimentation with different mechanics, and the search for secrets scattered throughout the campaign. I enjoyed the variety of objectives, but some achievements could have been made non-missable, or the game could have offered a more suitable chapter selection system to make pursuing 100% completion easier. This would prevent players from having to replay large sections of the adventure or save in very specific areas just to recover something they missed during their first playthrough. TRAILER OFFICIAL FINAL THOUGHTS Hellraiser: Revival has a few issues that keep the experience from being more consistent. The shift in pacing changes how we approach the game. It begins with puzzles, stealth, and sneaking through areas undetected, but gradually moves in a completely different direction. There are also moments when certain narrative situations feel overly convenient, leaving us wondering why the protagonist made a particular decision. These are aspects that could have received more attention, especially in a campaign that does such a good job of establishing its atmosphere. Even so, the way the game presents the Cenobites, hides puzzles throughout its environments, and uses discomfort as part of the experience makes these shortcomings less significant when compared to its strongest moments. Exploration rewards curiosity, the puzzles are engaging, and the introduction of creatures like Charlotte helps expand the variety of threats. Once we begin using the Genesis Configuration more aggressively and hunting for hearts to restore Sunny, the gameplay takes on a much more interesting dynamic, with a noticeable shift in the protagonist's attitude toward the dangers around him. For me, Hellraiser: Revival's greatest achievement lies in expanding a universe that has long deserved an adaptation capable of exploring its ideas with greater freedom. The structure of a video game allows for a self-contained story, presents the Cenobites from new perspectives, and creates situations that would hardly have the same impact in a film lasting approximately two hours. The exaggerated gore is necessary for this approach, and the willingness to embrace the franchise's identity makes the experience particularly memorable. Despite a few less engaging sections, I believe Hellraiser: Revival has found a direction that suits the franchise exceptionally well, delivering a horror adventure that left me feeling a level of unease I had not experienced in quite some time. SCORE: 8.5/10 Review by Gamertag: SCOULZ

When someone tells you that a city needs more parking, show them this game. THE GAME Car Park Capital is a city-building and management game developed by Hilkojj Interactive and distributed by MicroProse Software. You've been tasked with creating a car dependency among the population. Your primary job is to create parking lots so that city residents ditch public transport, buy cars, and use your parking spaces. And to use parking lots, you need cars, right? So, create and sell cars to the citizens. Make the population unable to live without a car and achieve capitalist success, consequently destroying everything good. Where should we put a new parking lot? EVERYWHERE! MY IMPRESSIONS If you've played any older, much older management games, you'll feel like Car Park Capital is transported directly from that era. Both its visuals and gameplay perfectly emulate what we had in a simpler era of computer games. Starting with the visuals, Car Park Capital has its charm, with an aesthetic I really like – very cartoonish and exaggerated, with vibrant colors that, even in its simplicity, clearly convey what it has to offer. The gameplay, while maintaining older management game elements, is often confusing and not very user-friendly. It's easy to get lost in the menus or not understand what's happening. In this case, the interface is more of a hindrance than the gameplay itself, which is ultimately hampered by the former. This is one of the problems; replicating a game in this style has its good parts, but also its bad parts, which could have been handled a little better for the game's overall quality. The game is not in Brazilian Portuguese, which makes it quite difficult to understand for those who don't speak English. It's essential to thoroughly understand the mechanics of Car Park Capital, because the tutorial only scratches the surface of what the game truly has to offer, and often you'll have to learn through trial and error until you get it right. You can play on predefined maps, but you can also play on custom maps. The main maps have objectives that must be completed within a certain time, so pausing the game doesn't allow you to interact with anything other than information, as the idea is that the game is entirely time-lapse, as if you can only change something while the time is running, since, as mentioned, you have a certain amount of time to meet metrics. Despite being the main theme, building parking lots is only the foundation of what you can do in Car Park Capital. They are a very fun part of the game, giving you great freedom to design your parking lot however you want. To make the parking lots useful, it's important that the population owns cars, so you build a factory, produce the cars, build a distribution center for these cars, and a store to sell them. You'll notice that many game mechanics, like the car production mentioned above, are designed in a way that one thing depends on another to function. This is the case with oil, for example, where you'll end up extracting, refining, and selling fuel at some point in the game. Furthermore, various services, such as food and car painting, also become drive-thrus. To gain more space for parking lots, you'll have to evict residents from the housing in the area you acquire, but it's not that simple: you must build houses outside urban centers, and only then can you force them to live far away. Of course, this is also designed to encourage them to use cars more. This way, you can build larger and newer parking lots or support buildings, such as advertising vehicles, fire trucks, or an anti-riot squad. And why would an anti-riot squad be necessary? Well, when you destroy the environment to build factories and extract oil, the population doesn't like it, and some protesters will try to boycott your business, and that's where the anti-riot squad comes in. As you can see, Car Park Capital starts one way, but opens up a huge range of new mechanics that will constantly make you try to fit them in the best way possible. Car Park Capital is clearly a satire of rampant capitalism, doing so with humor and sarcasm. Although it may not seem so friendly to more casual players, it tries to keep things simple, even though it requires a lot of micromanagement at all times. It's difficult to grasp the idea right away, but the game flows well if you start to understand what it wants from you, that despite having a time limit, you'll have enough time to complete the objectives. It's a great challenge for those who enjoy management games. Their actions have consequences for society. ACHIEVEMENTS At the time of this review, the game unfortunately does not have achievements. Perhaps they will be added in the future, as there is room for more challenge in Car Park Capital. Produce and sell more cars to have more parking spaces. CONCLUSION The central idea of ​​Car Park Capital really caught my attention. In a satirical way, it uses a very current topic to build a game around it. It's funny how sometimes it feels like you're building an amusement park instead of modifying an entire city. The pacing is a bit strange, because you feel like you need to do something, but the interface doesn't help much in orienting yourself. Everything seems a bit out of place, like some of the building grids, which is a little irritating, but it might just be my need to keep everything organized. Car Park Capital is a great management game, with really cool ideas, and the developers seem to have many ideas for additions, but it could improve the quality of life in some aspects of the game a bit more. Even understanding the idea of ​​it being a game in the older style, we don't need the bad parts. SCORE: 7.5/10

The sky belongs to those who can survive it In Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, war once again reaches the continent of Usea years after the events of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. The Central Usea Federation is still trying to rebuild after previous conflicts when the Republic of Sotoa launches a large-scale invasion. With its military forces under pressure and the city of Theve under threat, the FCU must reorganize what remains of its air power to face a force equipped with technologies capable of completely shifting the balance of the conflict. It is in this scenario that we follow Rex and the crew of the aircraft carrier Endurance. After a series of events, Rex ends up assuming the identity of Jan Cope, known as Wings of Theve, a pilot transformed by FCU propaganda into a symbol of hope. Alongside Joker Flight and other squadrons, he takes part in increasingly large-scale operations, ranging from attacks against ground forces and escort missions to battles against enormous warships and superweapons. As the war progresses, the conflict between the FCU and Sotoa reveals much greater interests behind the battles, involving the Enso Order and establishing new connections to the future presented in Ace Combat 3. GAMEPLAY The preparation for each operation in Ace Combat 8 is extremely thorough and begins long before we even start the engines. The pre-mission briefing provides a complete overview of the battlefield: the regional map, date, exact time, visibility and cloud density, as well as the tactical objective. Knowing in advance that the main target will be a battleship makes aircraft selection genuinely important. If the operation requires a greater focus on ground combat, choosing a plane equipped for ground attacks becomes a strategic decision that directly affects the success of the mission. The hangar system offers a very clear division of aircraft by role. Blue fighters are focused on air superiority and excel against other aircraft, while purple models take a multirole approach, perfect for players looking for balance. Red fighters are specialized ground attackers, ideal for tearing through tanks, artillery and naval fleets. In addition to choosing the main aircraft, we can install upgrades and configure which models our wingmen will use, creating tactics that carry from the planning stage directly into combat. In conventional missions, the game maintains that pure arcade pace, with missiles crossing the screen and aircraft being destroyed within seconds. However, when facing a battleship, the player's approach has to change completely. You need to identify the ship's vulnerable points, coordinate your attacks, save special weapons for the right moment and understand from which angle the target can take damage. If one side of the ship offers fewer attack opportunities, you are forced to circle around and find a new position. Even the surrounding environment affects combat: if there is a building between your aircraft and the target, firing a missile too early will simply cause it to collide with the structure. These are moments that make the player slow down, study the map and plan the next maneuver, contrasting with the speed of normal aerial combat. The difficulty curve follows your evolution as a player naturally. The early missions are simple and do a good job of introducing the basic systems, but the challenge gradually increases until you reach operations that demand much greater mastery of the aircraft and its resources. It is true that the menus and user interface (UI) throw a huge amount of abbreviations, statistics and technical information at you right away, which can feel somewhat cluttered for players unfamiliar with the franchise. However, it only takes a little time to adapt before you start quickly filtering the information that actually matters before each sortie. Teamwork also plays a central role throughout the campaign. Being able to issue direct commands to allies and customize each member's aircraft adds an important tactical element. Beyond their practical usefulness, the wingmen have distinct personalities and a constant presence in the cinematics, giving Joker Flight and the other squadrons genuine narrative relevance. The main issue is their behavior when they are not under direct orders. During open combat without active commands, allied AI tends to become excessively passive, leaving most of the heavy lifting to the player. On the enemy side, AI alternates between impressive evasive maneuvers from enemy aces and somewhat predictable flight paths from secondary fighters. Ace Combat Online The content does not end with the campaign. Ace Combat Online considerably expands the experience by bringing players from around the world together in the same environment. The mode features its own avatar system, allowing players to customize characteristics such as hair and hairstyle, as well as a lobby where we can meet other players, chat, access the hangar, configure the squadron, take part in missions and complete training. There is also an arcade inside this space, featuring classic Namco games, which is a particularly interesting detail for anyone who appreciates the company's history. The online mode offers several different activities, including attack missions, dispatch wars, emergency sorties, deathmatch, team deathmatch and special bounty contracts. There is also a shop with different currencies and content, including aircraft, skins, medals and other items. There is plenty of variety for anyone who intends to keep flying after finishing the campaign, giving the game longevity beyond its 30 main missions. The Flight Stick Experience My entire experience with Ace Combat 8 was played using a Thrustmaster T.16000M together with its throttle, and this made the experience even more interesting. There is a greater learning curve, especially at the beginning, because the number of commands and the way the aircraft is controlled require some adjustment. Still, the game allows this learning process to happen gradually. I did not need to be a simulator expert to adapt, and as the missions progressed, I noticed that I was using the equipment more naturally. The campaign's increasing difficulty matched this adaptation very well, and the feeling of mastering a maneuver or positioning the aircraft correctly after several hours with the flight stick is very different from simply playing through the entire campaign with a traditional controller. VISUALS AND SOUND Technically, Ace Combat 8 uses Unreal Engine 5 alongside Bandai Namco's proprietary technologies to render its environments and aircraft. The weather system also plays an important role, with dynamic atmospheric conditions that directly affect visibility and aircraft handling. This becomes even more important during certain operations because the weather is not merely a visual element in the background. It affects how we see the battlefield and control the aircraft. This combination also creates noticeable differences between operations, especially when moving from open environments to missions with more challenging weather conditions. The soundtrack is another highlight. Night missions are a perfect example of how music, scenery and combat can transform an entire operation. When the sky is dark and My Blue Sky Home begins to play, we get some of the most memorable moments I experienced during the campaign. Some of these missions can last for dozens of minutes depending on the player's skill, and even then, I was never concerned about their length because I remained genuinely engaged with what was happening. The soundtrack also features violinist Lindsey Stirling, known for her work on YouTube and her appearance on America's Got Talent, whose contribution gives the game even more soul. ACHIEVEMENTS I really enjoyed the achievement list in Ace Combat 8, especially because it follows the campaign's progression very well and encourages players to explore different parts of the experience. Most objectives are unlocked naturally during gameplay, while others encourage greater exploration of the aircraft, weapons, upgrades, wingmen and different systems available. This makes achievement hunting feel closely connected to what the game offers, rather than turning completion into something completely separate from the main experience. For players who enjoy completing games, there is plenty to work toward after finishing the campaign for the first time. My main criticism concerns the objectives tied to the higher difficulty levels. There is a requirement to complete the campaign on a specific difficulty, as well as a considerably more demanding objective that requires completing every mission on the highest difficulty with an S rank. Considering that some operations can already be quite demanding and that performance needs to be very precise at higher difficulty levels, this significantly increases the effort required to reach 100%. Even so, I liked the list as a whole, especially because of how well it follows the player's progression throughout the campaign. TRAILER OFFICIAL #AceCombat8, #AceCombat, #FlightCombat, #FlightSimulator FINAL THOUGHTS The main problem I encountered during the campaign is related to the time limit of one specific mission. In Mission 13, particularly during its final section, you have only two minutes to destroy approximately ten enemies. I persisted through this section and chose not to lower the difficulty, but at that moment I felt that the biggest enemy was not really the combat itself, but the clock. The time felt too tight considering the difficulty of the situation. This stood out to me even more because the rest of the campaign manages its pacing and objectives very well. In addition, the passivity of the wingmen when they are not given any orders can be somewhat frustrating. It is difficult not to highlight how much the wingmen contribute to this experience. Their presence during operations, the commands we can give them, the ability to configure their aircraft and, most importantly, the personalities presented in the cinematics make them much more important than simply occupying space in the sky. Combined with the variety of the 30 missions, the preparation before each operation, the different aircraft classes, upgrades and battles against major targets, the campaign maintains a very high level of quality throughout almost its entire duration. My favorite mission was the first attack on the land battleship, precisely because it brings several of these elements together and requires a different approach compared to conventional combat. Ace Combat 8 gave me the most enjoyable aerial combat experience I have ever had. The night missions accompanied by a memorable soundtrack, the constant progression in difficulty, the large-scale battles, the presence of the wingmen and, above all, the ability to play with a flight stick made a huge difference to my experience. The game is accessible enough for someone who is not a simulator specialist to learn, while also offering enough depth for that same player to notice their own improvement as they progress. I started out needing to adapt to the controls and ended up much more comfortable with the flight stick, making decisions about aircraft, weapons, allies and positioning almost naturally. With an exceptional campaign and an impressive variety of possibilities in each operation, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve establishes itself as a landmark for the franchise and as the most complete and enjoyable aerial combat experience I have ever had. SCORE: 9.4/10 Review by Gamertag: SCOULZ

A journey through different eras of science fiction in video games Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection brings together six games from a franchise that explored different styles and perspectives throughout its history. Originally developed by Team17, the series began in 1991 and evolved from top-down experiences into first-person 3D shooters. This collection stays true to its roots, preserving the classic versions while providing interesting information and trivia about each release, including its year, platforms, languages, perspective, and technical characteristics. It is also nice to see local co-op support for two players in compatible games, allowing players to revisit these experiences together. For those who have never played Alien Breed, this compilation offers an opportunity to discover a franchise that may have gone unnoticed by many, especially considering the number of changes it underwent throughout its history. MY IMPRESSIONS The first Alien Breed already offers quite interesting gameplay, with a top-down perspective that allows us to follow the character as we explore facilities infested with creatures. We need to manage our health, collect items scattered throughout the environments, and fight the Aliens that appear along the way, keeping an eye on how much ammunition we use. Some structures can also pull us inside, while holes scattered throughout the environment represent a constant threat, as new creatures can emerge from them at any moment. Combat features some interesting animations, such as enemies emerging from the ground, and the variety of creatures helps keep exploration engaging. However, the main challenge lies in finding the exit of each level, as the game frequently hides the paths required to progress. The structure ends up functioning almost like a maze, where we need to recognize the environments and figure out which doors lead to the next missions. The Deck Lift, for example, allows us to advance to the following stage, but finding these points can take quite some time. Since the environments remain the same when we return to a level, memorizing the paths becomes an important part of the experience. The problem is that this search comes with consequences: if we take too long, a countdown may begin, signaling the imminent destruction of the entire facility. The first game also features waves of enemies that seem to never end, making it necessary to constantly balance exploration and combat. It is a technically simple experience, but one that manages to create some tense situations, especially during the first attempts. Alien Breed: Special Edition '92 maintains the original structure, bringing an enhanced edition with more levels and updates that significantly improve the experience. Alien Breed II: The Horror Continues, on the other hand, represents a more expressive visual evolution, with completely redesigned environments and different creatures that help move its visual identity further away from its cinematic inspirations. The ability to switch between the original Amiga and Amiga Advanced versions is also an interesting feature of the collection, allowing players to experience different historical graphical configurations. Still, I consider this second game one of the weakest entries in the series, especially when compared to the other experiences available. Tower Assault, on the other hand, was much more enjoyable for me. With options between Amiga CD32 and Amiga 1200, it presents a more interesting structure, including a map that needs to be scanned to reveal information that was previously available more easily. The atmosphere also stands out, with brutal environments showing the effects of the alien invasion on people, including medical centers and other locations that help contextualize what happened there. Combat is quite satisfying, although ammunition seems scarcer and the difficulty of finding exits remains. The number of Aliens appearing throughout the environments can make the experience challenging even by today's standards, especially when we have to deal with loading times between levels. Some optimization in this area would have made progression more enjoyable. On the other hand, exploring the environments, finding objects related to the people who were there, and discovering fragments of the story are aspects that make the journey more interesting. There is also a time limit for completing missions, increasing the pressure during exploration. My main recommendation for anyone planning to start with the classic games is to pay close attention to their sense of direction and try to memorize the paths. Exploration can be quite demanding, but the encounters make up for much of that effort. The franchise undergoes another significant transformation with Alien Breed 3D, which abandons the top-down perspective and adopts a first-person presentation very similar to DOOM. The change works very well, especially because exploration now takes place through three-dimensional corridors, encouraging players to search for secrets while maintaining much of the combat structure we already know. Alien Breed 3D 2: The Killing Grounds continues this approach, introducing important quality-of-life improvements, although it also makes some thematic changes that move it somewhat further away from the identity established previously. It is interesting to follow this transition between different styles within a single collection, especially considering that the games were released relatively close to one another. Another aspect worth highlighting is how the collection preserves these experiences without making unnecessary changes that would compromise the original games. The available filters help adapt the presentation to modern equipment, while the different graphical configurations allow players to better understand the characteristics of the original versions. I also enjoyed the amount of historical information provided about each release, including platforms, languages, perspectives, and other interesting details. Overall, this preservation allows us to see how Alien Breed evolved technically during its early years, while maintaining the characteristics that help define each entry. ACHIEVEMENTS The achievements in Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection are spread across the different games in the compilation, covering specific moments of progression, exploration, and campaign completion. There are 18 achievements in total, encouraging players to experience each of the available titles, from the early top-down games to the three-dimensional adventures. Most are tied to natural events throughout the campaigns, such as reaching specific sectors, obtaining certain weapons, surviving important situations, and facing threats that are part of each game's progression. As a result, there is no need to complete a series of artificial challenges to make progress through the list, since most achievements follow the natural development of the adventures. In addition to the campaigns, the collection also includes an achievement for Horde Mode, requiring players to survive until they reach a specific number of kills. The final achievement depends on obtaining all the others, meaning that players will need to experience practically all the content covered by the list. Overall, it is a fairly accessible selection in terms of structure, especially since the objectives are distributed across the six games, although the natural difficulty of some older campaigns may require extra attention during exploration and combat. For those aiming to complete all 1,000 Gamerscore, it will be important to understand the particularities of each title and progress through their respective endings. TRAILER OFFICIAL FINAL THOUGHTS Some issues weigh on the experience, particularly the difficulty of finding exits, the excessive number of enemies at certain moments, and the loading times between Tower Assault levels. Alien Breed II also ended up being one of the least interesting experiences for me, especially when compared to the improvements introduced in later entries. These are characteristics that may require considerable patience from players unfamiliar with games from this era, particularly because the collection preserves much of the difficulty found in the original versions. On the other hand, revisiting the evolution of this franchise is quite interesting. Tower Assault was one of the games I enjoyed the most, both for its atmosphere and for the way it presents its environments and encourages exploration. The ability to experience different versions, switch graphical configurations, and access historical information about each release also adds considerable value to the package. Local co-op for two players is another very welcome feature, expanding the possibilities for enjoying these games together. Furthermore, Alien Breed 3D and its sequel showcase a significant transformation in the series, offering experiences that help us understand how Team17 experimented with different directions over the years. Overall, I consider Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection a very well-made compilation of a franchise I honestly wasn't familiar with. It is a faithful preservation effort, bringing classic games to modern platforms without resorting to changes that compromise their identity. I believe those who followed Alien Breed back in the day will find an interesting opportunity to revisit these titles, while newer players may have a curious experience discovering a series inspired by the Alien movies but one that developed its own identity in video games. I'm not sure how much this presentation will appeal to an audience that has never experienced the original games, especially given some of the difficulties that remain intact, but it is certainly worth trying this collection to discover an interesting part of Team17's history. SCORE: 7.5/10 Review by Gamertag: SCOULZ

Go back to the past so that the mistakes of the present do not affect the future. THE GAME Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis TD is a tower defense game developed and published by Ironhide Game Studio. In the present, the villain Vez'nan has emerged victorious from the war. With no hope for the future, our hero opens a portal to the past to try and prevent the apocalyptic present from happening. Reconnect with old acquaintances and the original lands of the Kingdom Rush series by doing what we do best: building towers and rallying heroes against hordes of enemies. Prevent the enemies from advancing at all costs. MY IMPRESSIONS Another game in the Kingdom Rush series, and we couldn't expect less from one of the coolest tower defense game series. Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis TD maintains the formula that has always worked, but without failing to bring new features. The towers, although always following the same idea, are always revamped, both visually and mechanically. The heroes, again used in pairs, continue to have the possibility of leveling up, now with an evolution tree, unlike what was proposed in previous games. Their spells, with the capacity of three slots to choose the ones you think best for your strategy, also level up, with a unique skill tree for each one. The upgrade tree also remains present in the same format as previous games. The novelty lies in the new game modes. Besides the classic Iron Challenge, which determines which towers the player will have to face a single large horde of enemies, there's Blitz mode, a fast-paced version of the stage with faster magic charging; Hero Party mode, where the player controls four heroes instead of two and cannot use magic; Spell Rush mode, the opposite of the previously mentioned mode; and finally, Classic Rush mode, which brings back the arsenal from the first Kingdom Rush to be used in the stages. Personally, Classic Rush was a great idea, paying homage to the series that has been making quality games for quite some time. The game's art remains incredible, as in all games in the series. The good humor is still maintained, with stage interactions always referencing pop culture. The game is in Brazilian Portuguese, making it easier to understand the mechanics of towers, heroes, magic, and upgrades. Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis TD maintains a very good level of challenge, always demanding the player's attention and good planning on how to attack each stage. There are difficulty levels to choose from if you want more of a challenge. Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis TD continues the legacy and honors the past, without ever making the game repetitive or lacking in new features. It's a series that shouldn't be missing from the game library of tower defense fans. The maps remain quite varied and full of surprises. ACHIEVEMENTS There's a wide variety of achievements to unlock in Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis TD. Starting with the simplest, which is basically finishing the game, we can include the achievement of getting three stars in all stages of each area, which can be challenging, but as it's part of the core of the game and its objective throughout the campaign, I consider it a more basic achievement. In fact, you'll have to get one hundred stars for one of the achievements. We also have achievements for using specific mechanics and actions, such as defeating 10,000 enemies or using a specific power that the stages offer exclusively. These are a bit more laborious, but many of them end up being completed without even knowing there was an achievement for them. Leveling up to the maximum level, both for your heroes and your magic, also unlocks achievements; in this case, you'll have to do some good old-fashioned grinding. Completing all the Iron challenges and finishing the game on the highest difficulties, in my opinion, will be the most difficult achievements to get, but they will be a good challenge for the player. Lastly, but certainly not least, the achievements for interacting with easter eggs in the levels are present here, as in the entire series, and for me, they are the most fun. Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis TD is normally challenging enough, but getting 100% of the achievements will be an extra challenge for players. Travel through the diverse territories of the kingdom. CONCLUSION Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis TD is a great way to pay homage to itself, returning to the game's past but bringing new features, as always. I like how the Kingdom Rush series, despite seeming to always be the same, strives to change or rework mechanics without taking away what made the series a success. Each game is always unique. The level of challenge increases, but without feeling unfair. For those who have already played any game in the series, they will feel nostalgic with the classic rush mode. For those who have never played anything from Kingdom Rush, it's a great gateway to discover this fun and challenging world. Kingdom Rush has been a classic for a while now and is increasingly making its mark on the history of tower defense. SCORE: 8.0/10

The road may be treacherous, but keep driving. THE GAME Keep Driving is a resource management RPG developed and distributed by YCJY Games and Kepler Ghost. Set in the early 2000s, you've just bought your first car and learn about a festival happening on the other side of the country. You're young, and adventure calls. You decide the route, and whether going to the festival is what you truly want. The road is full of dangers, and you must overcome them to reach your goals. Accept rides, upgrade your car, or simply try to reach the end of your adventure, navigating the challenges of life on the road. The road holds all sorts of events that a driver can expect. MY IMPRESSIONS Trips should always be well-planned, but even when you think you've planned everything right, unexpected problems can arise. Keep Driving emulates a car trip with RPG elements and resource management that, at first, may seem very punishing, but as your journey progresses, you realize that maintaining your resources isn't as difficult as it seemed, even if it's not trivial. Problems will appear at any moment. Your car might run out of gas or break down, you might run out of money or get hungry. All of this must be overcome using the resources available to the player. The game is in Brazilian Portuguese, which makes it easier to understand the game mechanics, even though the text interface is a bit confusing, you can still understand it. Graphically, the game is beautiful, with a very unique atmosphere. The soundtrack is up to the player, who can change the playlist in their car whenever they want and can even buy new CDs to listen to during their journey. The developers even say that the soundtrack is composed of local indie bands (in Sweden), which I thought was very cool. The ultimate goal is decided by the player. Although a final objective is presented early in the journey, you don't have to be stuck with it. The trip can open up a range of different objectives, and this is intentional, as the game has different endings, so it's fun to play again and see different story outcomes. During the trip, you can give rides to people who have side missions to complete, and again, if you want, you can complete them. The hitchhikers also help you in "battles" against threats on the road. These threats are events that occur during the journey from one point to another on the map. The player must avoid the threats using the abilities of the main character or the hitchhikers. Abilities consume resources or have limited uses until you rest to replenish them, so use them wisely. If you fail to avoid them on your turn, they "attack" you according to the resource they represent, potentially draining fuel from the car, damaging it, taking your money, or draining the driver's energy. These four resources, in particular, are crucial to your journey, both as resources to be spent and to keep them healthy. Negative effects can also affect your journey, such as hunger, cold, or stress, for example. For this reason, you should always pay attention to your inventory, which is the car's trunk. Different cars have different interior spaces, both trunk space and passenger seats, so it's important to choose and plan well which car you will choose at the beginning of your journey. Most of the time, these negative effects can be removed with rest or the use of items, such as food to satisfy hunger or a hot coffee to combat the cold. Although simple, it's a very creative mechanic and makes the game much more interesting. Finally, your car also deserves special treatment, allowing the player to improve it with new parts that also help in combating the threats on the road. Think of the car parts as the character's armor; after all, the car fulfills that role. Keep Driving puts a map in the player's hands and the freedom to decide what to do, like a young person with their whole life ahead of them. Experiencing different stories, trying different goals, always with new perspectives, is a really cool thing the game makes possible. The game's atmosphere immerses you in the experience of truly enjoying a journey that, even with its occasional setbacks, makes it all worthwhile. Choose the best route to reach your goals. ACHIEVEMENTS Despite having few achievements, you'll have a lot of work to do to complete them all. They all relate to possible endings and specific missions that appear during your journey. Basically, it's up to the player to experience everything the game presents. In general, you just have to follow what the mission tells you to do, and it's up to the player to succeed or fail in fulfilling the request. Completing 100% of the achievements may take time, but you're young and have plenty of time to enjoy the journeys offered by Keep Driving. Always be well-prepared for any kind of problem that may arise. CONCLUSION Without a doubt, one of the most visually beautiful games I've ever played. It has a truly unique atmosphere that you can only understand by playing it. It's relaxing, while at the same time you have a lot of obstacles to overcome. Although the "combat" against the road's threats isn't that fun and is sometimes even confusing because of the text interface, the overall aspects of the game compensate for that, leaving a very cool and creative experience for the player. Keep Driving is definitely worth playing and experiencing everything it has to offer. SCORE: 8.0/10

Every Choice Can Lead to the Worst Possible Path PEPPERED: An Existential Platformer is one of those games that manages to surprise you just when you think you already understand where the story is heading. The game stands out for the intelligence with which it handles its narrative possibilities. There are paths where you try to do everything right and still end up in a completely absurd situation, while certain decisions that initially seem wrong can lead to much more interesting outcomes. The story constantly plays with these expectations and never treats the player as someone who needs to have every answer handed to them. It is an incredibly original and creative narrative, filled with situations that make you want to find out what would have happened if you had chosen differently. GAMEPLAY The gameplay in PEPPERED is technically simple, but it works very well within the game's overall design. The platforming relies on basic actions such as jumping, crouching, sliding, and gliding, while the player moves through the environments looking for the next point of progression and interacting with objects. Life Stars are also an important part of this structure, serving both as a means of progression and as part of some of the game's narrative possibilities. There is no huge variety of movements or complex systems, but the combination of these mechanics creates a very enjoyable experience. What really sets this structure apart is the way the platforming and narrative constantly alternate. At certain moments, I am simply focused on making my way through an area, finding a star, or figuring out how to reach a particular point. At others, my attention shifts completely toward a story-related decision. This balance works especially well because the game never tries to turn every moment into a massive challenge. The simplicity of the gameplay leaves room for what really drives the experience: finding out what happens next. Even with such a streamlined platforming structure, there is always the feeling that there might be something hidden waiting to be found or an NPC who has something interesting to tell you. The choices also work as a gameplay mechanic in their own right. At one point, you can simply walk out the door instead of following the expected path of the job interview, and that decision puts the protagonist in a completely different situation involving the theft of a star and a police pursuit. From there, the consequences begin to pile up and can lead to different endings. Even situations involving defeats and failures can affect how the adventure develops, meaning that replaying certain sections is not simply about trying again, but also about discovering another narrative possibility. ACHIEVEMENTS The achievements in PEPPERED are quite simple and do not require mastery of specific mechanics or particularly complex challenges. The list is directly connected to the game's narrative structure, encouraging the player to discover everything the adventure has to offer through its different choices and endings. Completing most of them requires exploring the various possibilities of the story and understanding how certain decisions alter the path you take. There is also an achievement tied to completing the game more thoroughly, which requires greater exploration, but overall, the list works much more as an incentive to discover the narrative branches than as a series of challenges separate from the main campaign. TRAILER OFFICIAL FINAL THOUGHTS The way the endings are structured, the consequences of your decisions, and the possibility of taking on different roles within the story are excellent. The idea of starting out as someone simply trying to get a job and, depending on your choices, climbing the ranks until the company itself becomes part of your fate is incredibly creative. And when everything seems to go wrong, the game still finds ways to turn those decisions into new possibilities. The situations involving the police officer are also great, especially his relationship with his own boss, as he is constantly trying to get permission to simply shoot the protagonist while being met with one "no" after another. Overall, PEPPERED was one of the most interesting games I have played when it comes to storytelling. It has an extremely well-crafted narrative, never underestimates the player, and creates enough curiosity to make you want to discover other paths, other endings, and even the small hidden details scattered throughout its environments. Even with its simplified gameplay, there is a lot of charm in the way it supports the narrative, and the sheer number of situations that can emerge from your choices makes the experience feel much larger than its initial structure might suggest. SCORE: 8.5/10 Review by Gamertag: SCOULZ

What happens when you lose the desire to play games? THE GAME Ved: Recure is an action roguelike developed and published by SummerClip. After returning from another tiring day at work, Zane, our protagonist, buys yet another game to play, but like 999 others, he leaves it to gather dust in his digital game library, as he no longer has the same enthusiasm for playing video games and no one to play with. Exhaustion overwhelms him and Zane falls asleep, but something strange happens: he is pulled into a game by the God of Games. This God did this with the goal of rekindling Zane's passion for games, which he doesn't seem at all enthusiastic about, but upon encountering a situation affecting the inhabitants of that game, Zane has a new objective for himself, one that might help him return home. Face powerful robots. MY IMPRESSIONS Ved: Recure puts you in the action at all times. Upon starting a match, you're immediately pitted against several enemies, and once defeated, you receive your reward. There's no exploration like in many roguelikes; here, action is the main focus. After defeating enemies, you choose your next reward, which could be a new upgrade, increased health or energy, points to spend in the shop, or access to the shop itself. The game progresses from there, culminating in a boss fight amidst a sequence of standard enemies. In boss battles, you'll need more attention and strategy, as they'll be much more challenging than standard enemies, requiring consistent dodging and parrying to avoid damage. The gameplay is very fluid, with cool movements and satisfying combos, especially when enhanced with upgrades acquired during the match that add new effects to your attacks. It's up to the player to assemble the best possible combination to inflict maximum damage or effects on the enemy. These improvements can be added to all character moves, giving a wider range of possibilities and combinations. It's worth remembering that, being a roguelike, you don't carry these improvements over to new games. However, you can keep equipment, which you buy outside of the game in a special shop that updates after each match. This equipment has set combinations, meaning that if you use equipment that shares the same aspect, you'll gain more attributes and effects. You can also acquire new weapons and, like equipment, spend points to level them up. Finally, another aspect you'll carry over is skill levels, which can also be improved outside of games, increasing damage such as basic attacks and special moves, for example. The game is not in Brazilian Portuguese, which may hinder the understanding of some mechanics and the story. Despite this, the story is quite simple and easy to understand. The game features seven different playable characters, and although the protagonist Zane is present throughout the story, he is not playable. Each character has a completely unique gameplay style, allowing the player to choose the one that best suits their play style. However, since the gameplay is quite enjoyable, you're likely to like them all. It's a game with a lot of replayability because you can hardly progress much without upgrades, and you only get them by playing a lot. Ved: Recure is a fast-paced game that quickly gets you into the action because you'll need to play many, many times, which can become repetitive. For those looking for a challenging but very satisfying game to master, Ved: Recure will deliver exactly what you're looking for. Equipment, in addition to its aesthetic appeal, gives you extra advantages when used in specific combinations. ACHIEVEMENTS The achievements in Ved: Recure are simple, but laborious. Completing the story will already grant you most of them, as many are about defeating the game's bosses, completing story chapters, and finishing a match. Many are also related to repeating basic mechanics, such as dodging or parrying blows a hundred times, for example. Maximizing items and abilities also unlocks achievements, which reinforces that if the player only plays normally, they will probably get all the achievements already mentioned. Finally, finishing the boss rush mode, which makes you fight all the game's bosses in sequence, and finishing matches with all the characters completes the challenge to get 100% of the achievements in Ved: Recure. Enhance your moves with effects that further improve your combos. CONCLUSION If you need a pure action game, Ved: Recure delivers. The unique gameplay and fun, easy-to-perform combos, along with the upgrades, make the game a complete blast. Adding new layers to the combos, imagining how they can stack up, makes it even cooler. Keep in mind that it's a very repetitive game; reaching new levels can take time, and the path is always the same, which can get a little tiring. Still, it's a great game to play two or three times without getting bored, progressing gradually. The simplicity and straightforwardness of Ved: Recure is what makes it a great pastime. SCORE: 8.0/10

What's hidden in the fog this time? THE GAME Silent Hill: Townfall is a horror game developed by Screen Burn and published by KONAMI and Annapurna Interactive. Without knowing why, Simon Ordell, our protagonist, finds himself in St. Amelia, Scotland. With the classic foggy setting, the town streets are seemingly empty and the houses abandoned. Simon has some connection to the place and the people of St. Amelia, but, like him, we will have to discover what is happening. Equipped with a CRTV, a portable television that picks up signals, Simon must explore St. Amelia cautiously, as strange creatures lurk in the fog and make life difficult for our protagonist. Be stealthy, but engage in combat if necessary, so that you can survive the horrors that unfold in the town. What's happening to Simon? MY IMPRESSIONS My initial highlight goes to the tension that Silent Hill: Townfall masterfully creates. Even if nothing is happening, walking through the town of St. Amelia, with all the atmosphere it has built, makes the player feel watched or in imminent danger. And speaking of the environment, Silent Hill: Townfall uses the entire setting, both visual and auditory, in an incredible way. The streets and houses, even abandoned ones, are full of details, telling a story in themselves, without saying a word. The soundtrack is fantastic, using music at just the right time to build incredible moments. The sounds, both from enemies and your CCTV or the environment, heighten the player's tension, as the town itself is silent, which helps to create moments of simple terror, but with a great impact on the player. The town may seem large, but it's a sufficient area to be explored extensively, as there are many houses that the player can enter and explore or even have action sequences inside. You also won't want to run through the streets because of the imminent risk of threats that may appear, so walking around the city will be a slower pace, without taking you away from the tense experience that is the game. Simon, our protagonist, has a CRTV, a portable television that picks up signals, which is extremely creative and important for the gameplay of Silent Hill: Townfall. With it, in addition to receiving visual clues about where to go at certain times, it also indicates when there are creatures nearby and, if tuned correctly, shows where these creatures are. The way these visual clues are presented on the CRTV is, in a way, disturbing, as it looks like one of those found footage films, which adds a lot to the experience. Speaking of clues, Silent Hill: Townfall is a game full of puzzles and, for me, that's the best part. Through exploration and analysis of found documents, you will advance through very fun and well-thought-out puzzles, which are not limited to just the area where they were found, often requiring the player to explore other places in the city to get what they need to complete the puzzle. It's worth remembering that the game helps you in a way by indicating when you have clues about what needs to be done through the game's inventory, but if you're not so astute in this type of game, there's the option to play with hints, which will highlight important information in documents and clues, which is great for all types of players. As for the action, with Simon, you'll have a balanced playstyle, being able to completely stealthily navigate the creatures you encounter, but if necessary, you can engage in combat using improvised weapons like pieces of wood or pipes, always remembering that these weapons wear out and eventually break with use. Keep in mind that how you play influences the game, since Silent Hill is a series that, admittedly, has multiple endings. Without going into too much detail to avoid spoiling the experience, you play with two other characters who slightly change the balanced dynamic you have with Simon, as one of them will force you to play completely stealthily while the other will allow you to be completely aggressive against the creatures. I confess that the stealth aspect of Silent Hill: Townfall doesn't appeal to me as much, but that's because stealth gameplay in first-person has never appealed to me. Exploring and solving puzzles far surpasses the action parts, but that's just my personal taste. The story is very intriguing, and you feel as lost as Simon when he arrives in St. Amelia, in a good way, obviously. Exploring and trying to understand how everything is connected in that story is what makes Silent Hill: Townfall so interesting. The game is in Brazilian Portuguese, which helps the player follow the story, read documents more easily, and facilitates understanding the clues without losing their original meaning. Silent Hill: Townfall will immerse you in the story, as if you were there, walking through St. Amelia, building tension at every corner you turn, even though there's no real danger. Silent Hill fans will enjoy what they get playing Silent Hill: Townfall, and for those who have never played any game in the series, it's a great entry point into the franchise. Your CRTV will be essential for your survival. ACHIEVEMENTS Although they may not seem that complex, the achievements in Silent Hill: Townfall will require some effort from the player, since Silent Hill is known for its various different endings, and this game is no exception. Obviously, each ending has a different achievement, and this fact alone will make the player replay and finish the game several times. In addition, there's an achievement for finishing the game in under four hours, which will require the player to learn more optimized ways and endings to complete this feat. Aside from this more laborious part, exploring the game will be quite important, as you'll have to collect all available documents and call all possible phone numbers. Finally, exploring certain mechanics and performing specific actions, such as distracting ten enemies using radios or defeating enemies using all types of weapons, will be necessary to achieve 100% of the achievements. Certainly, you'll have to spend a lot of time in St. Amelia and soon you'll know the game like the back of your hand. Bizarre creatures will be everywhere. CONCLUSION I'm not that used to playing horror games, but I don't avoid them either. When well-made, a game of this genre holds my attention because it's interesting, and Silent Hill: Townfall managed to do that for me. The tension created by the game is very good, so much so that I often found myself looking all around or even crouching, even though the CCTV hadn't indicated any danger nearby. The way the CCTV is used is very cool and creative, as are the clues to advance in the puzzles. Many times I felt that combat with the creatures wasn't even necessary, because the atmosphere of the game alone was enough to horrify. The stealth aspect of the game didn't appeal to me as much, as I mentioned before, and the mechanics themselves aren't that enjoyable, but nothing that detracts from the fun of the game. The game faces some optimization problems, with some FPS drops and visual stutters, but I believe that will be corrected in the future. Silent Hill: Townfall is a great entry point for new players to experience the Silent Hill series and is a great game to continue this franchise. SCORE: 8.5/10

Logan is back, and his claws have never been sharper. In Marvel's Wolverine, Logan must deal with a past he cannot fully remember while becoming involved in a story that brings together important characters from the mutant universe, including Jean Grey, Mystique, Sabretooth, and Nathaniel Essex. In a reality where mutants are still beginning to organize themselves and are forced to live in hiding, Wolverine's journey takes him through different moments of his history, putting his memories, relationships, and instincts to the test. GAMEPLAY Insomniac knows exactly how to present the character and turn his claws into an extension of the player, but it takes a while before truly allowing Logan to take center stage in his own adventure. Logan is at the heart of a story that moves through different moments of his past, introduces important characters from the mutant universe, and puts the player through increasingly violent combat. The problem is that the beginning spends too much time explaining how to play, interrupting short gameplay sequences with scenes, dialogue, and interactions that could have been handled much more directly. Combat is, without a doubt, where Wolverine begins to show his full potential. From roughly the first third of the game onward, especially after Logan and Jean set out through the snow to find the others, the experience becomes much more enjoyable. The game finally assumes that you already understand its mechanics and starts introducing new enemies and abilities without having to interrupt the action all the time. Wolverine remains extremely linear, but within combat arenas there is greater freedom to decide how to attack, use the claws, perform executions, take advantage of the environment, engage enemies directly, or rely on stealth. The variety also improves with the introduction of different enemies, including invisible opponents, larger enemies, and leaders who require a slightly different approach. The Rage system is one of the biggest highlights. As Logan enters combat and builds up his Rage, he can perform more powerful attacks and use special moves that completely change the pace of a fight. The healing factor also plays an important role in this dynamic, making Logan's resilience an essential part of the fantasy of controlling Wolverine. Progression is divided between gear, techniques, and adaptations. Techniques and adaptations must be selected to determine which abilities will be prioritized, while the number of available adaptations depends on character progression and the DNA strands obtained. Gear is mainly tied to outfits and claws and can increase attributes such as health. Active abilities appear less frequently, and many of them work as specific bonuses, such as allowing another takedown after a stealth execution. The boss fights also show the difference between what works and what could be better. The battle against Omega Red was one of the fights I enjoyed the most, especially considering the difficulty setting I was playing on. The fight is brutal and highly cinematic, but the enemy's movements are relatively predictable, particularly the attack in which he pulls Logan closer and drains his life. The battle against the prototype Sentinel, however, gave me a different impression. The fight drags on because the enemy appears to take no damage during certain moments, which turns what could have been a challenging encounter into something somewhat tedious. The motorcycle sections are also fun, although I expected more urgency from them. Actual crashes could have happened during the rides and made these sequences more tense. STORY ⚠️ WARNING: this section contains story spoilers, including the ending and post credits scenes. The story of Marvel's Wolverine is quite good and fairly grounded within what it sets out to do, but it is far from extraordinary. There is also a curious issue right from the opening minutes: the game practically gives away who the main antagonist will be before even starting to build the mystery. The presence of Troy Baker as Nathaniel Essex, combined with the character's appearance and that blinking red eye, immediately made me suspect that there was something much bigger going on with him. For anyone who follows the industry and easily recognizes a casting choice of this magnitude, it is difficult not to think that something is being hidden about the character. Essex also takes on some narrative functions that resemble the role Charles Xavier would normally have in X Men stories, particularly through his connection to the formation of Team X and his attempt to protect mutants, although he is not a literal replacement for Xavier in this universe. The absence of Charles Xavier in this universe is also curious and could have at least provided an opportunity for a cameo, especially considering his importance to X Men mythology. At the same time, I liked the idea of presenting a universe where mutants are still beginning to organize themselves and are living in hiding, with Logan, Jean, Mystique, and Sabretooth occupying very different positions within this reality. The story remains cohesive throughout much of the campaign and succeeds mainly by keeping its focus on Logan, his memories, and his relationship with Jean. The problem is that almost the entire rest of the cast ends up in the background, and I would have liked to see more development for characters such as Sabretooth and Mystique. Wolverine's loss of memory works within the premise, and the presence of Apocalypse adds an interesting layer to the character's past, especially because the threat is not completely resolved by the end of the campaign. The boss battles are also generally very good moments, with the exception of Deathstrike, which bothered me mainly during the first phase of the fight because she moved away practically every time I tried to get close. What disappointed me the most about the story, however, was the relationship between Logan and Jean. I expected a much more intense romantic relationship between them, especially considering the weight that their relationship carries in the comics. Throughout practically the entire campaign, their relationship feels like two teenagers who clearly like each other but never go beyond that. Even with the additional revelation involving the two of them in the post game content and the Repressed Memories achievement, I felt that the game lacked the courage to develop their romance more explicitly. It is curious because the game shows no hesitation when it comes to blood, mutilation, and extremely graphic violence, yet seems much more restrained when it needs to explore intimacy between its protagonists. In the end, Logan's loss of memories and Jean's speech did not have the emotional weight they could have had for me, although the story still works as a good introduction to the character for those who do not know his journey in depth. VISUALS AND SOUND Visually, Wolverine is a delight. Insomniac uses the same engine as Marvel's Spider Man and once again demonstrates how impressive this technology can still be. The characters are extremely detailed, the environments feature excellent lighting and shading, and even interior areas have plenty of personality. Tokyo in particular looks beautiful both during the day and at night, even though the game gives you relatively little time to explore the region. The research into real world environments carried out by the team can also be seen in the construction of the locations and helps create convincing spaces. Another technical detail I really liked is the fact that the cinematic scenes are rendered directly through the game engine. The skins used by the player continue to appear in cutscenes, which keeps the presentation much more consistent. Some of these scenes could be even more impressive with CGI, but keeping everything within the engine is a major technical achievement for the team. The visual quality also works very well with the level of violence in the combat, while the soundtrack, sound effects, and DualSense feedback help reinforce the impact of Logan's claws, attacks, and abilities. ACHIEVEMENTS Marvel's Wolverine's achievements have some good examples of how to take advantage of the game's own mechanics, but they also repeat the problem of turning exploration into a checklist. Ground Control, for example, requires you to push three enemies off the plane, while Shish Kebab requires you to impale an enemy on an environmental hazard. These are achievements that work precisely because they make the player pay attention to what Wolverine can do during combat. Parry Perfected, with 500 parries, and Spiral Cut, with 75 enemies eliminated using Tornado Spin, also encourage the use of mechanics that are part of the core experience. On the other hand, there is still a considerable number of achievements based on collectibles and repetition. Crate Collector requires finding all Material Crates, Full Barrel requires finding all Whisky Bottles, and Pathways of the Mind requires finding all Nightmare Doors. I would have preferred a larger portion of the list to follow the approach of achievements that create specific situations using the game's mechanics, instead of requiring the player to search for hundreds of objects scattered throughout the chapters. TRAILER OFFICIAL FINAL THOUGHTS The biggest problem with Marvel's Wolverine remains its pacing, especially during the first half. The excess of scenes, dialogue, and situations that interrupt the gameplay weighs heavily on an attempt to teach you how to play a simple game, and some missions, such as searching for a cellphone under the sofa or putting a record on the turntable to listen to the "perfect music," feel more like content created to increase the game's length than to develop the story or its mechanics. The voice acting is very competent in both the English and Brazilian Portuguese versions. Even so, I still disagree with the decision not to localize the characters' names for our language, an idea I have considered rather silly since Spider Man 2018. There are moments when the narrative could have been more ambitious, particularly in the development of the supporting characters and the relationship between Logan and Jean. The experience improves significantly once we reach Japan. By this point, the game has already introduced its main mechanics, the combat is more developed, the enemies offer greater variety, and the story begins moving toward its most important moments. The final battle is also a good way to close the campaign, especially because it brings together elements that were built throughout Logan's journey. The visual presentation remains one of the game's greatest strengths, and the depiction of Tokyo, despite its limited exploration, is among the most beautiful parts of the adventure. The portals, Rage system, adaptations, techniques, and the evolution of the combat itself make the second half work much better than the beginning, especially once the game starts letting go of the player's hand when introducing new features. Overall, I had a lot of fun with Marvel's Wolverine. It is a game that works very well when it simply lets Logan fight and use his abilities, and it also serves as a very effective entry point for anyone who wants to get to know the character better. The story is competent, but it is not extraordinary and could have developed its characters beyond Logan much more. The combat, visuals, some of the boss battles, and the evolution of the campaign after Japan were enough to greatly improve my perception of the game. If the experience had maintained the pace it reaches during its second half throughout the entire campaign, we would probably be looking at a very different score. SCORE: 8.3/10 Review by Gamertag: SCOULZ

Fight epic battles that only fighting games can provide. THE GAME Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a fighting game developed by Cygames, Inc. and Arc System Works and distributed by Cygames, Inc. The world of Granblue Fantasy is the backdrop for your characters to fight each other in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. You can enjoy a solo adventure playing the story mode to learn some fundamentals or the arcade mode if you want to jump straight into the action. And, of course, the versus mode, to challenge friends, or the online mode, to challenge people around the world, are available for those who like to test their limits against other players. Choose from a cast full of well-known characters from the Granblue Fantasy franchise the one you like best and fight in action-packed, strategic matches that only fighting games can provide. Everything that made Granblue Fantasy a success is also here. MY IMPRESSIONS For those familiar with fighting games, Arc System Works knows that if a game of this genre involves Arc System Works, it's bound to be good. Arc System Works is a developer with a lot of experience in fighting games and knows how to create enjoyable gameplay for both beginners and seasoned players. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is no different. Speaking as a more casual player, I've always had the view that fighting games are difficult to learn, at least to avoid just mashing buttons until something happens. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising shows that it is indeed possible to learn and have fun in the process, mainly because the game embraces all types of players with different control types, allowing beginners to play with simpler commands and more experienced players to have more control over their movements. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a great entry point for those who want to learn and immerse themselves in the world of fighting games. If that still doesn't convince you, no problem, there's a free version of the game, with limited features, but it allows you to experience what I've described in practice. The Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising roster features most of the franchise's characters, all with their familiar characteristics, allowing for some customization, such as colors and weapon swaps. Customization even extends to your player card, for those who like to personalize their online profile to showcase their favorite character. Returning to the characters, each one's fighting style is quite unique, giving players a lot of choice in how to play and which character they prefer. Generally, we end up choosing our main character based on their appearance, but that's also good, as you learn and master the character you like best, making everything more fun. Any character you choose is fun to play, thanks to the variety of gameplay innovations each one brings. It's cool to see the interaction between characters before and after the fight begins, with unique dialogues that respect the game's story and their personalities. The movements are fluid and the abilities are very satisfying to use, always respecting the weight of the blow. The special moves are a spectacle in themselves, with incredible scenes of the characters executing their attacks. The game's art is beautiful, with a very distinctive animation style that makes everything even better. The soundtrack follows some themes from Granblue Fantasy and will be quickly recognized by those who have played other games in the franchise. The story mode, besides obviously telling a story, serves as a learning experience for beginner players, allowing them to learn the basics of the game before diving into the competitive world, as well as try out some characters in the process. The arcade mode is more direct in its action, placing opponents directly before the player, but with an interesting mechanic allowing the player to choose the opponent's level after each battle. Another essential mode is ranked, which is very beginner-friendly, always pairing players of the same skill level, avoiding frustration for new players who want to start competing online. There's also an online lobby where you can enjoy an interactive space with other players, as well as some available minigames. Finally, the training mode is very complete, helping the player learn everything from basic fundamentals to more advanced concepts, all in a practical way, making this mode your best friend for mastering your skills with your favorite character. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising manages to combine a great fighting game with extremely cool and charismatic characters. Even if you've never played a game in the Granblue Fantasy franchise, you're sure to be captivated by one of them. The combination of fluid and satisfying gameplay with beautiful visuals and effects encourages players to keep playing and learning, without frustrating any skill level. If you're looking for a game to start your fighting game journey, consider Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising as your choice. Play with characters full of personality. ACHIEVEMENTS The achievements in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising cover practically everything the game offers, from normal gameplay to replay and save features. Gameplay-related achievements consist of performing certain moves a certain number of times, which will eventually happen if you play many matches. In addition, there are also achievements related to the story mode. Naturally, there are also achievements for online mode, but they don't demand much skill from the player; simply playing a specific number of times will already give you some achievements, which is great for those who aren't very good or are still learning. Practicing in training mode, fully customizing a character, leveling up a character—in short, as mentioned before, everything the game offers has an achievement to unlock. Therefore, play Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising calmly and, eventually, you will achieve 100% of the achievements naturally. Have fun in the online lobby too. CONCLUSION Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising came at the perfect time for me. I was looking for a fighting game to start learning and really get into. I was happy to find such a fun and enjoyable game as Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. All the characters are really cool, you want to learn to play with all of them because each one has a unique characteristic that makes their gameplay interesting. The story mode does its job well as an introduction to both the world of Granblue Fantasy and the world of fighting games, albeit in a simple way. The training mode is so interesting that it makes you want to stay there testing everything with various characters. I can't wait to train more and learn more combos to improve my gameplay. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a good example of why Arc System Works is so good at making fighting games. SCORE: 9.0/10