Cristian Gradinaru

Review

The Alters Review- Uncut Diamond

Update: I have been informed that the latest updates may have improved the things I had a problem with during my playthrough, but I believe going back in to redact my opinions is not the best use of my time. Take my opinions with a pinch of salt. Lately, I

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Nintendo Switch Lite- Probably the last small handheld console

The Switch Lite hits the sweetspot of size and power and I think it's regretable that most handheld consoles seem to grow in size.

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review- The best of both worlds

Expedition 33 is a turn-based RPG made by Sandfall Interactive, a relatively small team of 30-ish developers under the Sandfall umbrella and some (vital) outsourcing teams. It's fundamentally a game of unbelieveable quality, in equal measure from a design, combat and artstyle point of view. I am not

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Karma: The Dark World Review- Astoundingly great horror

In a totally unexpected fashion, I came across a promising looking thumbnail in my occasional Steam browse. It seemed like a story game similar to others I have played recently (such as Nobody Wants to Die), and had a reasonable price, so I went for it. What followed was pure

Review

The Unfinished Swan Review- Unique, but indecisive

A couple weeks ago, I was in the mood for a nice and short story game, and of course I tried seeking experiences similar to things I loved in the past. One such experience was “What Remains of Edith Finch”, a fantastic game I still remember fondly (and one I

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Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Review- It's about the journey...

This trope of "its about the journey, not the destination" is mostly used to excuse a lacklustre ending, and unfortunately I feel it's very suitable for this game, a feeling very akin to what I felt when the previous game rolled credits. The journey itself is

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Still Wakes the Deep Review- Underwater Nightmare

If you're into horror games, developer Chinese Room is probably not what your mind springs to when looking for a new experience. With a track record of immersive first-person stories like Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and Dear Esther, this AA studio decided to use their

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Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 Review- Doom, but in 3rd person... without Mick Gordon

Okay so I may have exaggerated a tiny bit with my title, but I think the comparison is not entirely without merit. A lot of the moment-to moment gameplay is more-than-slightly similar between the two: fast paced and unrelenting combat, glory kills to refill health and armor, and an extensive

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A different perspective on Metaphor: ReFantazio

Metaphor: ReFantazio is an impressive art-driven game, with one key design issue.

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My games of the year: 2024

I will actually do the opposite of what most articles do, and skip straight my list, and have the storytime afterwards. I will also break them down into a few classes, in order to not make my job too difficult to have to find a specific rank. Must Play This

Review

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Review: This is cinema

Movie tie-in games are almost never anything special, so my initial assessment was to write this one off as well, seeing that I am not even a huge Indiana Jones fan. The three things that made me change my mind are in order of importance the following: the developer, the

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The Thaumaturge Review- You didn't know this word even existed

It is a rare occurrence when I need to use google to understand a games title. This is one of those times. 11Bit and Fool's Theory come at us with an interesting concept of wizards that can "feel" other people's personalities and intentions imprinted

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Silent Hill 2: Remake Review- A study in blood

If you know anything about the horror genre, the name "Silent Hill" has probably whizzed by your ears. To be completely honest, I am not entirely sure where my familiarity comes from, but Silent Hill feels like a household name in my brain. I've been a

Review

Frostpunk 2 Review- A reimagining I didn't quite desire

I was understandably extremely excited when the release date for the sequel of one of my favorite city building games was closing in. Frostpunk was a breath of fresh air back in 2018 when it released. It was tense, thrilling and did not hold your hand... your mistakes were yours

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Aliens: Dark Descent Review- A non-traditional Alien experience

You'd be forgiven for thinking a game titled Alien(s) is going to be a horror experience full of tense moments and light-restricted corridors. You'd also be half-right for thinking that. The game succeeds in conveying the atmosphere of a Xenomorph-infested planet, but without the horror.

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The Invincible Review- The power of the cloud

I've started 2024 with the mindset to experience more story-driven games... mostly because I've grown weary of the normal formulas of open world AAA games. I've experienced soaring highs and abyssal lows in my search for those hidden gems that I may have missed,

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Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga Review- More isn't necessarily better

Hellblade 2 is more of the same, but it is not a step forward. It feels more like a step to the side.

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Indika Review- Short but intriguing

A weirdly engaging trek through Christian Orthodox believe systems, told via a 3rd person story

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Deux Ex: Human Revolution Review- Quality does not age

While in between big releases in the 2024 calendar year I decided to re-experience a game I had played as a young buck. The choice I landed on was one of the best Immersive Sim games I have ever played... Eidos Montreal's 2011 classic. If you are not

Review

The Crew: Motorfest Review- A car enthusiasts joyride

The racing genre of video games can be mainly split into two groups: sim racers and arcade racers. These categories divide the fanbase into very distinct sectors. Sim racing enthusiasts rarely dabble in the arcade stuff, and vice versa. It is somehow at the intersection of these two genres that

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The Last of Us: Part 2 Review- A kerfuffle in the name of ratings

The history of TLOU: Part 2 is one of conflict- both from a narrative perspective and also from a social point of view. The launch of this game was one of those events that shook the gaming landscape: it was all-out warfare between critic and user consensus, and it is

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Nier: Automata Review- The internet's posterchild

Word to the wise This post will be a bit more spoiler-ridden than most others on this site, so if you truly want to see if this game is actually for you, skip the text, and read the "Conclusion" chapter. That section will be kept satisfyingly vague for

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The Medium Review: Perspective-shifting horror

I became a fan of Bloober Team after playing their first-person horror game called Observer: System Redux. I rate that game very highly mostly because of the haunting creativity that they were able to put on display, with slight regret over the latter half of the game. That second half

Review

Assassin's Creed: Revelations Review- The Dying Embers

Recently, I've been wanting to close the Ezio chapter of my Assassin's Creed "book" since I've never gotten around to playing this when it came out. My preferred method of administration was the Nintendo Switch, which had both a positive and negative

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Alan Wake 2 Review- An indie wolf among AAA sheep

Alan Wake 2 is a very atypical game from more than one perspective. First and foremost, there's the fact that the studio behind this title (Remedy Entertainment) is quite small by modern standards, even though you wouldn't be able to tell by the graphic fidelity of