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[Cleaning the Backlog] The Mass Effect Trilogy
No matter how much you love the game, some of the magic wears off when you replay it so many times. I no longer feel the dramatic tension during the Suicide Mission, I’m no longer impressed by the scope of Reaper invasion, and I don’t even shed a tear when Mordin dies. But when Mass…
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[Cleaning the Backlog] Anvil of Dawn
Anvil of Dawn is perhaps not the best dungeon crawler ever made, but it’s undoubtedly one of the most streamlined and accessible. As one of the evolutional peaks of the genre, the game optimizes its essential aspects while filtering out everything unnecessary, excessive, and burdensome. Additionally, Anvil of Dawn is one of the most beautiful,…
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[Cleaning the Backlog] The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is one of those Leviathan games that change a whole biosphere with a single breath; it’s Bethesda’s most impactful game and the inter-generational beacon of RPG design; it’s a game that came closest to being the only eternal game to end all games; it’s a monstrous behemoth of gaming software;…
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[Cleaning the Backlog] Blackguards
Blackguards is a good game. But in order to enjoy it, you have to curb your expectations—it’s not a walk in the park that modern game design has made everybody accustomed to.
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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Souls
It took years for Dark Souls trilogy to finally click with me. I have been enamored with its setting and aesthetic since the very release of Prepare to Die Edition on PC. The port was poor, though, and it scared me away. By the time when modders fixed it, the ‘difficulty discourse’ caught up on…
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The Outer Worlds
I do have ambivalent feelings about Outer Worlds. Mechanically it fails to achieve the level of its spiritual predecessor, a masterpiece that this year will celebrate its tenth anniversary. But exactly as in the case of Fallout: New Vegas, Outer Worlds’ main strength is in its vivid, detailed, and highly entertaining story. Or stories, to…
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Might & Magic: Dark Ages
Might & Magic series entered the new millennium with a limp. The Day of the Destroyer, the eighth game in the series has shown severe signs of stagnation and was met rather coldly by the public, which expected a rise to a new quality level from the beloved franchise. Furthermore, the Heroes series were also…
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Might & Magic: Popular Days
The first five games of glorious Might & Magic franchise have received all the love and praise they deserved. But in the mid-’90s, New World Computing decided to put the series on hiatus. Sheltem’s story has ended on an epic note, and all the roleplaying juices seemed to dry out. Might & Magic became strategic: Heroes of…
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Might & Magic: The Golden Age
Behold that fabulous world of roleplaying games! Vibrant and beautiful, it floats through the vast space of escapist entertainment, enchanting the hearts and empowering the minds. There are three pillars this world is based upon—Ultima, Wizardry, and Might & Magic. Each of them had an overwhelming influence on the shape, feel, and direction that the…