Though somewhat related to Doom 3 this is kind of a re-imagined version of the classic Doom 1 (which Doom 3 also was, hence the parallel but different story). The story is set on Mars for the most part, and just as in Doom 3 it's based on humans messing with unearthly forces for profit/exploiting new energy sources. But that's about where the commonality stops, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. You do uncover a new background story of the Doom Slayer, and it has everything that makes Doom what it is since the beginning: tech, zombies, demons, blood all over the place. It also stays true to the concept: no open world, linear levels, clear objectives, a few get.the-key or push-that-button puzzles (if you want to even call them that). The graphics are not overwhelming but still OK by today's standards and have in my opinion aged well for a game that is by now almost ten years old. In comparison Doom Eternal felt way too much like a jump'n'run rather than a shooter, which I personally didn't like very much. This one does not fall into that trap. Dark Ages in comparison almost completely drops the Science Fiction aspect in favor of a bogus fantasy worldbuilding already present in Eternal, which made it feel like Warhammer 40k fantasy (like e.g. Vermintide) rather than "proper" Doom. So, to me this is essentially the best/truest Doom there ever was, the peak experience.
If you spent part of your youth in arcade halls you'll love this just for the pure nostalgia of it. This is also arguabley the best way to bring the classic "beat 'em up" genre back to live for a new genertion. The lovingly hand-drawn comic style sprites are pure eye candy, animation is for the most part spot-on. As a bonus you can unlock the reproduced original ixel-sprites of SOR 1-3 as playable characters. I'd recommend going for the whole enchilada with the DLC to get all the high-res characters too. If you loved Double Dragon Neon, but felt that it was lacking a bit of variation (Billy and Jimmy are basically the same in terms of gameplay) this should be perfect. Each character has their own moves, strengths and weaknesses. Plays perfectly on my ROG Ally Z1 Extreme.
This is not going to redefine its genre, and especially in the early stages is pure survival. If you're out of luck to get good weapons and boosts early on it can be frustrating. In principle it reminds me of the recent auto-shooters like Brotatoe, Vampire Survivor or Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, minus the auto-shooting part. It's a bit of casual fun with nice (though not overwhelming) graphics and very rudimentary story. The coop feature is a nice extra. A few more enemy variations could have helped the gameplay, which does get old pretty fast. Then again, it's probably not meant for playing more than two or three levels in a row. I didn't experience any bugs or glitches. Plays buttery smooth on my ROG Ally Z1 Extreme.
That's when they had me. This game is a great example of how nice a game can look and play when you skip the effort of making a vast open world with tedious and boring side quests and focus on gameplay instead. Yes, the levels are linear, yes there's usually only one way to solve the puzzles, yes, you will run into fairly obvious arenas with waves of enemies. If any of those qualify as bad on your list this is probably not for you. If you love the idea of a steampunk cowboy blasting his way through beautifully gritty and detailed levels and hordes of enemies with various gadgets and the godfather of all brass-knuckles: go for it! Runs quite well with medium to high settings on the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme.
This is a very relaxing game that lets you build and decorate your own cyberpunk city. No enemies, no budget/resource management, no catastrophes. Just blissfull building, taking photos, recording videos and quicker than you notice hours have passed and you feel you should be watching BladeRunner or playing Cyberpunk 2077 again. And I just can't tell you how much I love this soundtrack. Exellent and completely different game!
This is a very worthy remake of the classic. It's right on point: the graphics, the voice acting, the phenomenal sound design. This is the SH2 for GenZ (and anyone who wants to relive the horror that still lingers in the back of your head from childhood days).
I just wanted to get a nice, fun game I could play with my kids. But once again that's not possible, as there is no multiplayer, just like in XXL 1! Just as a warning, so you don't fall into the same trap. To me it's quite unfair to call the Game "Asterix AND Obelix" and then only deliver "Asterix OR Obelix" instead. If you want proper two player couch-coop you have to go with XXL 3, as that's the only game in the series with proper coop.
I just wanted to get a nice, fun game I could play with my kids. But that's not possible, as there is no multiplayer!!! Just as a warning, so you don't fall into the same trap. To me it's quite unfair to call the Game "Asterix AND Obelix" and then only deliver "Asterix OR Obelix" instead. If you want that you have to go with XXL 3, as that's the only game with proper coop.
