Playtime: 11:45 Hours
"Wolfenstein The New Order" manages to combine the charm and gameplay of old-school shooters like "Doom" or its namesake predecessor with a modern story and character focus and bombastic production.

Even if some cutscenes start and end rather abruptly and both the characters and the story seem a little rough and edgy, they work. I particularly liked the fact that the main character Blaszkowic constantly makes melancholy comments about the story.

In terms of gameplay, it's the clever enemy AI that provides challenges, the different enemy types, the variety in level design and the massive and extremely bloody hit feedback that made the game a lot of fun for me.

Playtime: 14:20 Hours

Longer, bigger, crazier, better? Not quite, but part two of Machine Games Wolfenstein reboot series is at least on the same level as the very good first part. It's hard to believe that the game was released in 2017 as pretty as the graphics are, especially the lighting effects and character models.

Apart from that, this second fight against the regime is filled with some really stupid but at the same time ingenious twists, really brute action interludes and a lot of black satirically charged humor. It all works much better than in the first game and the DLC.

Unfortunately, the gunplay is not as good and unique as in the predecessor. This one feels more like Call of Duty, has less impact and less of a trash factor. The level structure is also sometimes opaque and confusing and the AI is no longer as clever as it was in "The New Order". Nevertheless, the Hollywood-ready production and the crazy pace, as well as the action and humor, are really very successful. All in all, a very strong second part, but one that can't outdo the first.

Playtime: 10 Hours (Claires Campaign Run 1)
After "Dead Space", the remake of "Resident Evil 2" is probably the peak of survival horror games (I'm still missing Alien Isolation). Although part 2 is also always presented with a wink towards trash, the almost 10 hours in Claire's campaign are nevertheless much calmer and more seriously told than the action-packed chase in part 3 and the, in my opinion, far too long odyssey through Spanish forests in the fourth part.

Of course, the story itself is also rubbish here, but I don't mind it so much because the atmosphere is extremely well done and every shock is well-timed. In addition, simple but successful puzzles and a shortage of ammunition still play a major role in the gameplay, the whole level design is fantastic, both visually and in terms of the general structure, and the fact that parts 2 and 3 share the same location and time period makes for several great "aha moments".

When I first tried to play the game on release, the mechanics surrounding the indestructible Mr. X got on my nerves quite a bit. This time it was different and I love the twist they do with him. Very good game in every respect.

Alan Wake ist zwiespaltend.

Auf der einen Seite ist es rein storytechnisch eines der spannendsten Spiele die ich bisher so gespielt habe. Diese Mischung aus Stephen King und David Lynch, allen voran Twin Peaks-esquer Atmosphäre ist einfach großartig.

Doch dann kommt das Gameplay, welches, sagen wir mal etwas clunky sein kann. An sich fühlt sich das umschießen von Gegnern ja ganz gut an. Jedoch bringt dich das Spiel gern mal durch Munitionsknappheit und Momenten wo es dich komplett entwaffnet in verdammt nervige Spielabschnitte. Diese sind nie so schwer, dass ich aufhören wollte zu spielen, nervig sind sie jedoch allemal.

Andererseits kann das Gameplay auch eben richtig Spaß machen. Siehe die Combat-heavy Episode 5 oder die Highlight Sequenz aus Episode 4 (wer es gespielt hat, weiß wovon ich rede)

Allen in allem hatte ich eine tolle Zeit mit Alan Wake. Ich bin unglaublich gespannt wie Remedy die Geschichte in Alan Wake II weiterführt und inwiefern Control das Universum rund um das Ganze erweitert.

Playtime: 19 Hours
My first thought was: This is what a movie by Miyazaki would look like in a Pixar look. To a certain extent, "Kena: Bridge of Spirits" is exactly that in its visual presentation and the way the world works in the game. There is mystery, lots to discover, unusual but lovable creatures and a story about ghosts of the past. Even though I have to say that the story and Kena as a character are the weakest parts of the game. It's all kept very simple and Kena doesn't really undergo any development. Too bad.

On the other hand, the graphics, platforming and battles are convincing. While the platforming is simple but very intuitive, the battles on the second-highest difficulty level are really challenging. The big unexpected highlight for me was the boss battles, which always involved a certain amount of strategy. This is where the game was able to shine the most thanks to the supporting powers of the "Rots", because despite the fact that Kena only has two weapons, there were many ways to approach the fights.

At just under 19 hours, the game is also the perfect length, although the pure story would probably be a few hours shorter without the great challenges.