July editorial review

Martin Zavrzel

Traditionally, summer vacation has always been a drought period for gamers – publishers suggest that people spend more time in the water and in the sun than with their computer or console pets. But this year it certainly wasn’t. Maybe it’s because thanks to Marmot (Switch) we can comfortably play many of the latest games outdoors. But there will be many more, because the pandemic has slowed down development, and many games have gone beyond the originally planned timelines. But most of all, I want the reason after so many years to be the realization by publishers that releasing all the important games only in the spring and autumn, when we can’t buy or play them, just doesn’t make sense. makes sense – a better distribution throughout the year is much more reasonable.

So, July has been surprisingly filled with quality games, whether it’s the wonderful tale Monster Hunter Stories 2, the timeless legend called Skyward Sword, the great ballad Ender Lilies, the successful F1 2021 races, the fun mix of genres in Chernobilite, or the fun and incredibly beautiful Ascent. Seriously, talk to this list and say you see a drought. You, our readers, were subsequently awarded such a gift, when you overtook Zing visitors by a wide margin not only in July of last year, but also in June of this year. Thank you, we will love this summer.

There will be no shortage of interesting games in August. I have to admit, I’m really looking forward to Aliens: Fireteam Elite. Since this is one of my favorite films, I simply welcome any opportunity to return to that world, although, unfortunately, the truth is, usually this does not work out very well. Perhaps this time the situation will change, the presence of story campaigns and a Czech translation inspires hope. Of course, I’m also curious about the narrative return of Ghost of Tsushima, Eivor’s trip to Paris, or the very mature, cinematic and witty paranormal detective drama 12 Minutes. Of course, we have Gamescom in August, albeit only digitally, but we’ve already got several publishers to sign NDAs regarding certain revelations. So if you do us a favor next month, we promise to reward it.

Ondrey Partl

For me, July was pretty much the only Final Fantasy XIV Online game. To be honest, I’m not particularly fond of MMORPG games, but the expedition to this world completely overwhelmed me when I left a perhaps unhealthy amount of time last month, went through the base game, and now I’m looking forward to the content that offers discs with data. Also, I was able to try out the upcoming King’s Bounty II (impressions here), which may offer many hours of fun, but, frankly, is not without some pitfalls. And let’s not forget the landmark in the form of Hunt: Showdown, which recently received a new map.

When I look at the list of games that will enrich our screens in August, I am genuinely surprised at how many interesting games are coming out. Probably the most exciting thing about the game is Ghost of Tsushima, it’s the best it’s offered me in the last year, so I probably don’t need to describe too much how much I want to go to Iki in the upcoming expansion. However, I certainly shouldn’t forget the still-perfect-looking Twelve Minutes game, and I’ll be honest, I’m slowly looking forward to the Aliens: Fireteam Elite shooter, even though it has little to do with the atmospheric movies (which I personally don’t mind). ). Naturally, it will also be interesting to see how the aforementioned King’s Bounty II turns out, and I see a personal favorite in the Slavic RPG Black Book, which I did not know about until recently, but immediately liked it. And to make matters worse, hopefully No More Heroes 3 finally comes out, the sequel I’ve been looking forward to for a while now. And, of course, I have Hades waiting for me again, which I will enjoy on the PlayStation this time.

Yakub Zhezhule

In July, I managed to finish the next generation version of Metro Exodus: Complete Edition for the Playstation 5. I presented the game in a recent article on immersion and HUD as an exemplary example of a game that places a lot of emphasis on teaching the player to “read” the game world and most of the interaction can be was done without the help of waypoints, health bars and similar distractions. However, I’ve heard from several people, including several members of the editorial board, that the original console version of Exod was pretty bad and disgusted by many fans.

The enhanced version runs at a smooth 60fps, and the already detailed environment graphics at first glance have been vastly improved with massively used ray tracing and other effects (detailed analysis from Digital Foundry can be seen here, next-gen Metro video has more DF and I strongly I recommend watching them).

In addition, DualSense control of Metro further enhances the immersive experience by making full use of triggers and haptics. In short, Metro Exodus: Complete Edition is the current, top-notch, and very accessible next-gen game of all titles, and I’m a little sad that relatively little is being said about it. While the English dubbing and dialogue is usually pretty crappy and some parts of the script seem very silly or predictable, on the other hand the gameplay, game design and overall handling are world class. There are very few games of this quality (especially from a first-person perspective).

And I’m not talking about the love and care with which the authors of 4A Games wove DLC Sam’s Story (with the voiced main character!). They could have easily released it as a standalone game in the style of Uncharted: Lost Legacy. If you’re used to playing carefully and exploring the map, Sam’s Story is nearly equal in length to the previous two games and perfectly highlights all that was and is great about the Metro brand! In short, if you’ve got a new console or a modern PC and you’re a fan of survival horror or aggressive games that don’t feel like an artificial world, give Exodus a shot.

Jan Urbanchik

July is usually a dry season for game, but this year is not exactly the case. We saw some interesting games. However, at the beginning of the summer I made up for lost time. This time I started my very belated The Evil Within. As a big fan of the Resident Evil series, I always enjoy playing something like this, and I wasn’t disappointed this time either. I didn’t really like the game at first, but the more I played, the more I liked it. From the very first moment, it was clear that this was not as big a title as the games of the RE series, but despite this, I quickly moved on and got into a very interesting, perhaps too mysterious story. I even enjoyed The Assignment and The Consequence DLCs explaining the whole story, and to be honest, I liked them even more than the main game itself. They are created in a similar style to the Burial At Sea expansion for BioShock Infinite, the second part of which I personally consider the best DLC of all time.

But then came the time of Formula 1, in which I still return and continue my career. You can find my review of the game here. I’ve also returned to Dead Space 3, which I now have a greater desire to finish after the announcement of the number one remake, but I haven’t had much of a chance yet. I dedicate the end of July to playing The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. You can expect a review next week.

Even August does not indicate that we are experiencing a period of drought. Kenny’s recent postponement has froze me, but there are other games I’m looking forward to. Mainly Humankind turn based strategy and 12 Minutes indie game. But I’m also interested in the director’s cut of Ghost of Tsushima. I finished the base game earlier this year and am excited to start the expansion.

Daniel Yarotsky

In July, I spent the most time on zombie action Days Gone on PC. The sluggish first half of the game, in my opinion, surpassed the more successful second part. I liked the fights with numerous hordes of enemies, a more intimate civilian story and dialogues with well-written and well-drawn characters. Martin Gonet and I also dedicated part of the latest podcast.

At the end of the month, I managed to play one of the big rests in the form of Resident Evil Village. I will write about my impressions in the next review. Moreover, thanks to the new big update at number five, I returned to the Microsoft Flight Simulator flash drive. At the end of the hot month, I edited another interesting title that will especially please history buffs. But I will talk about this in more detail in a few days in the review.

From the August titles, I have a plot interactive thriller “Twelve Minutes” and motorcycle racing RiMS Racing from the workshop of the Italian studio Raceward. I’m also looking forward to what Gamescom brings this year in pure digital form.

Ivan Jeziorek

This July was characterized by several things. Crazy weather, crazy work team and crazy game to review. After a long time I happened to read Akira, the last Bleach 26, Tokyo Ghoul: re 9, the second Demon Slayer, Attack on Titan 26 and Cutlet Dungeon, but what I liked the most, I also managed to review one game (because my daughter went to grandmother for a week, and then for another week at Harry Potter camp).

After all, the game was nothing more than a remake of Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed from 10 years ago. I’m not saying it’s easy, but I understand what 10 years in game development means. Somehow you get used to various leashes and crutches that lead you by the hand when playing any RPG. Take something as small as a map showing the location of primary and secondary tasks. And now you will lose it. Or an equally detailed description of the task. After a long time, I also solved the problem when I used only a few storage positions and, thanks to a minimum of information about the task, repeated about 5 hours of play. But the worst thing was that it was enough to meet one sideline, and it would be right after the problem. But currently NEO: The World Ends with You is waiting for me on Switch, which I’m really looking forward to.

Mikulas Stoklasa

What would a student for me was a summer drought, but also a summer job. Yes, in July I had very little time left for games, but I did find one title to which I devoted the last remnants of my free time. This is how I started The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Nintendo Switch. While I’ve never been a big fan of Zelda, I must say that this episode sparked my interest in learning the full story behind this legendary series. However, Skyward Sword also won me over in terms of gameplay with enhanced controls for the Nintendo Switch. This makes the game really fun, although when your loved ones see you fencing in front of the TV, they think you’re crazy.

August will mean another month of drought for me. Luckily, there are a few more games that have caught my eye and I will definitely at least give them a try. Namely, it will be “Ascension”, which I’m really looking forward to, because there are not many cyberpunk themes. The second such game will be Psychonauts 2, although I honestly still have no idea what to expect from this game. But it might end up being a pleasant surprise.