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[Cleaning the Backlog] Wolfenstein 3D
Shareware versions of both Wolfenstein 3D and Doom were pre-installed on my first PC machine back in 1995. When friends came over, we played Doom «Nightmare hotseat»—we sucked, rarely beating E1M1, but it was pure fun. Personally, though, when remaining one-on-one with my best pal Volkov Commander (also pre-installed by patriotic Russian hardware sellers), I…
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[Cleaning the Backlog] Elite Dangerous
I failed to get into EVE Online in the past, so I expected Elite Dangerous to become a more easy-to-learn substitute for my space MMO ambitions. In the last six years, I conducted several playing sessions—expeditions of sorts. Some were relatively short, with the game shelved within a day, and others lasted for weeks. All…
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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] Abzu
Of course, the audio-visual ensemble is what actually matters in this game. But one can wonder—how far can we go with amplifying the audio-visual component while weakening the gameplay and storytelling aspects and still consider an overall experience a game? Where is the line between a game and a spectacle? Well, this is it. Abzu…
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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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Ridicule these misanthropic bastards!
Every initiative that potentially undermines living humans has to be stomped into the dust. Ridicule the hell out of corporations and expose the rot hidden under the veil of fancy bullshit. They are already in control of much of our lives—don’t make it easier on them!
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[Cleaning the Backlog] A Plague Tale: Innocence
A Plague Tale: Innocence is an excellent example of the schematic simplicity of decent storytelling in a videogame. You need a central theme enforced by plot and mechanics and an overall focus on this theme. The rest is a technical matter. Of course, the devil lies in the details, and additional layers are necessary to…
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[Cleaning the Backlog] BattleTech
BattleTech is a turn-based tactical strategy game in a style known as XCOM-like¹. It has a campaign with a story, an overarching macro-strategic layer with base management and upgrading, complicated tactical mechanics, etc. I won’t talk about all that stuff—it’s all well done and gratuitously playable. The thing that makes BattleTech a god-tier game for…
Baking Potatoes On the Ashes of Society